Things to do in Ballingeary

Stretching over 25,000 acres, Ireland’s first national park was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1982, an award given to areas that demonstrate a balanced relationship between people and nature.

At Muckross House visit a beautiful aristocratic home, wander through extensive gardens and learn about traditional farming culture. Explore a grand estate with many different perspectives of Ireland’s history.

Whether arriving by boat after your trip through the Gap of Dunloe or by land along the Kerry Way, find historic Ross Castle standing serenely over beautiful Lough Leane. See a very well-preserved example of a medieval castle from outside and in.

Once a monastery where monks whispered their daily prayers, now a fascinating site of mossy ruins, find Muckross Abbey deep in Killarney National Park. Wander through rooms with a turbulent history of violence and destruction. You can now sit peacefully among the trees and flowers that grow around them.

Look for a spot where two rocky walls rise up on either side of a narrow road winding out to the green horizon and you will have found the Gap of Dunloe. This breathtaking glacial valley cuts through the mountain range of the MacGillicuddy Reeks to the west and Purple Mountain to the east.

At the highest point of the road, be rewarded with a spectacular sight in Moll’s Gap. See the skies, huge and vast, filled with rolling clouds passing slowly over the ancient green landscape. Mountains rise on either side.

Step inside Killarney Cathedral, one of the largest churches in Ireland, to find a peaceful, beautiful church with gorgeous stained glass, carrying living history on its walls. Also known as St. Mary’s Cathedral or the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption, this is an important landmark in Killarney and one that brings pride to its citizens.