The World's Most Beautiful Places

COUNTY KERRY, IRELAND

“It’s a soft day,” the Irish will say to describe

a mizzling afternoon with a bit of rain. Soft

days come often to Killarney, in Ireland’s

southwest corner, courtesy of the Atlantic

and the Gulf Stream, but the result is a

verdant landscape of bubbling brooks, water-

falls, and lakes framed by dulcet woods of

oak and yew, lush banks of ferns, and fuchsia-

tinged hedgerows. Above it all soar the steep

slopes of the country’s highest mountains,

the magnificently named MacGillycuddy’s

Reeks (3,406 ft/1,038 m).

DON’T MISS

Any Irish visit must take in the

craic

(the fun), so

spend an evening exploring Killarney and its old-

time pubs. Then allow two days for the Ring of Kerry,

a 111-mile (179 km) drive around the region’s finest

lakes, mountains, and monuments.

Historic monuments, such as Ross Castle outside

Killarney, are a feature of County Kerry’s landscapes.

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P E A K S & VA L L E Y S

killarney