Killarney Travel Guide

One of Ireland’s most popular things to do, the Ring of Kerry is essentially a 179km long scenic driving circuit of the Iveragh Peninsula. Take a day to drive it, stopping along the way to capture the many Kodak moments en route.

However, there are other ways to experience this route and region as well. While it is not advised to spend much time walking on the main roads for safety reasons (though not always possible), there are plenty of amazing places to hike, once you turn inland. Enclosed by the famous Ring of Kerry, the MacGillycuddy’s Reeks mountains hide many hidden gems such as Carrauntoohil, Ireland’s highest mountain, Torc Mountain and waterfall, the Gap of Dunloe, the lakes of Killarney, the Kerry Way, and more, all explored below.

But there is another way to experience the magic of Killarney and the Ring of Kerry: by bike. The Ring of Kerry should be on every avid cyclist’s bucket list who visits Ireland. The best way to see the Kerry Peninsulas and the Ring of Kerry is from the saddle of a bike. The rolling green hills, the winding back roads, the medieval castles and ruins, the golden beaches and the dark blue loughs all combine to capture the rose-tinted image of Ireland that many have in their mind’s eye.

Learn more about the Ring of Kerry in our guide below. 

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Killarney National Park was Ireland’s first established national park, in 1932. The park encompasses a variety of landscapes – lowlands and thick forests, soaring mountains and crashing waterfalls, important heritage sites like Muckross House, Ross Castle and Kate Kearney’s cottage.

Ross Castle

Hugging the edge of Killarney’s lower lake, Lough Leeane, rises the formidable remains of Irish chieftain O’Donoghue’s Irish tower-house. Built by O’Donoghue Mór in the 15th century, the castle was later gifted to the Browne family, along with the coveted title, “Earl of Kenmare.” Unfortunately, this was common practice at the time – the British government confiscated lands and castles owned by Irish chieftains who did not swear fealty to the British forces, instead giving the lands to more loyal British subjects.

Interestingly, Ross Castle was actually the last holdout in the region against the invading Cromwellian forces. Cromwell and his feared troops were sent by the Crown in the 1600s to squash any hints of rebellion by the local Irish, as well as burn Catholic structures (to be replaced with protestant ones). Ross Castle was finally captured in 1652.

There is a local legend still attributed with the place: it is said that the spirit of Lord O’Donoghue sleeps at the bottom of the lake, arising once every seven years to patrol his lands on his white steed. Anyone who witnesses this act is granted good fortune by the old chieftain (so keep your eyes out if you’re visiting in May!)

Muckross House

Erected in 1843 for Henry Arthur Herbert and his wife, the water-colourist Mary Balfour Herbert, Muckross Abbey is a very pretty Tudor-style manor house  sixty-five rooms. It once hosted Queen Victoria on her visit here, but the expenses incurred to prepare for such a high-profile visit helped lead the Herberts to financial ruin, and the house was sold to Sir Arthur Guinness, of Guinness beer fame – though his motive was to preserve the Killarney landscape and simply rented the house out as a country lodge.

Later passed to another family, the Bourns, the house was eventually gifted to the Irish Free State (later the Republic of Ireland) in 1932, serving the basis to Killarney, Ireland’s first national park. Today, you can visit the house and gardens, and there is a restaurant in the garden.

Muckross Abbey & Yew Tree

This ancient and peaceful place was built in 1448. Known today as Muckross Abbey, it was once an Observantine Franciscan Friary. It has a short but violent history, with the friars often suffering from raids, attacks and persecution, and was burned in 1652 by Cromwell’s army. The graveyard is cluttered with many significant graves of Gaelic chieftains and writers.

The abbey was founded by Donal McCarthy Mor – unlike the O’Donoghues, the McCarthy’s just barely managed to hang on to their lands for several more centuries. At the heart of the abbey, in the central courtyard surrounded by the cloisters, there is a beautiful ancient Yew tree, a type of tree often associated with graveyards, death and the supernatural.