The hike to the top of Carrauntoohil – Ireland’s highest mountain – is one of the most popular day-hikes in Ireland, along with Croagh Patrick, Diamond Hill, Cliffs of Moher and Mount Errigal. The official Irish name of Carrauntoohil (also spelt Carrantoohil, Carrantouhil, Carrauntouhil and Carrantuohill) is Corrán Tuathail, which means “Tuathal’s sickle”; perhaps because the mountain’s distinctively curved ridge resembles a sickle, or because according to legend the warrior-king Tuathal Preachan wielded a magical sickle that shaped the mountain’s summit.
It’s a bit foggy but not raining as I start the Carrauntoohil hike from Cronin’s Yard, the traditional and most common trailhead for the ascent. There’s not too many people around and the carpark is fairly empty, but I am starting fairly early.
The wide trail ascends very gently through farmland (the valley is called Hags Glen) – the entire route to the top of Carrauntoohil is through private property.
A sturdy bridge – the Patie O’Shea Bridge which was erected in 2010 and named after a community activist – crosses an unnamed creek that flows off the mountain.
Soon after this bridge is the Angela Kenny Bridge, which crosses the Gaddagh River. It was named after Athlone woman Angela Kenny, who drowned here in a freak accident while crossing the river after climbing Carrauntoohil in December 1987.
The trail continue to ascend gently along the Gaddagh River, with fog shrouding the mountains ahead, but the weather is slowly clearing and offering some nice views back down Hags Glen.
Directly ahead are the Macgillycuddy Reeks, the only mountain range in the country with peaks over a thousand metres, but none of the tops are visible.
There’s one final crossing of the Gaddagh River, this time across a series of large stepping stones.
I’m beginning to a) question why this walk is considered challenging as I continue hiking up the gravel path and b) wonder where the hell the paved path is going, as it appears to be heading straight towards the steep walls of the mountains at the end of the valley…
The trail passes between Lough Callee on the left and Lough Gouragh on the right, where it more or less ends…
…from here the route is pretty obvious as it starts to climb more steeply, but there is no longer a well-defined trail.
It’s also almost impossible to keep your feet dry, as the route follows a stream uphill and crosses a number of very boggy sections.
At the least the slightly improbable route is now obvious: Devils Ladder (the most popular of several routes to the summit Carrauntoohil) ascends a narrow and very steep gully between two peaks.
The route becomes more obvious and less daunting as you get closer: it’s steep but not particularly difficult. Just don’t try and keep your feet dry if it’s been raining: Devils Ladder follows a watercourse up the gully, and the best approach is to ignore the water and pick the easiest path up the gully.
The rocky gully gets increasingly steep as you get higher but there’s no real scrambling involved. If there’s people below you need to take care not to dislodge any rocks, and don’t bother with hiking poles as some people suggest – although there is no climbing involved you’re better having both hands free than clutching two metal sticks! Despite the somewhat daunting name, this is the easiest and most direct route to the Carrauntoohil summit.
About two thirds of the way up Devils Ladder you get the iconic view down over Hags Glen and the two lakes (Lough Callee and Lough Gouragh).
This is the last good view I see for a while to the north, as I enter the fog for the last section of Devils Ladder up to the col.
From the ridge I get my first glimpse of Lough Curraghmore to the south.
The rest of the ascent to the Carrauntoohil summit is a fairly gentle ascent. Initially there isn’t any sign of a trail, although on a clear day you’d see the summit in front of you.
As the clouds continue to lift, Cnoc an Chuillinn (958m) and Cnoc an Chuillinn East Top (926m), which form part of the MacGillycuddy’s Reeks range – there is a trail which traverses the top of these peaks.
As I continue towards the top of Carrauntoohil, the mist and clouds ebb and flow, providing fleeting views of the surrounding mountain peaks.
The clouds have lifted more to the south, providing a view of the Bridia Valley (I think!) to the south-west.
On the rocky summit of Carrauntoohil is a 5m (16 ft 5 in) high steel cross, which was erected in 1976 to replace a wooden cross. As well being the highest mountain in Ireland at 1,038.6 metres, Carrauntoohil is recognised as:
- the 133rd-highest mountain and 4th most prominent mountain in Britain and Ireland on the Simms classification.
- one of 34 Furths (mountains above 3,000 feet or 914.4m in elevation) by the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC)
- one of the thirteen Irish Munros.
It’s also said that the peak of Carrantuohill was the last dry land to stand above the rising waters of the biblical Deluge: as Noah steered his ark past this temporary island he saw upon it a Kerryman, who greeted him with the universal Irish greeting: “A fine soft day, thanks be to God.”
Although the persistsent clouds mean I don’t enjoy 360-degree views, I can see Lough Eighter, Coomlougha Lough and Lough Eagher almost directly to the west (the upper two lakes merge when the water levels are high).
Almost directly below and to the north is Lough Cummeenoughter, the highest lake in Ireland at 707m, nestled between the steep slopes of Carrauntoohil and Beenkeragh (an alternate hiking route to the top of Carrauntoohil goes past the lake).
To the south are the peaks of Knocklomena and Knocknagullion, and behind them Kenmare Bay.
I linger a while near the summit hoping the clouds may clear more, before heading back down the mountain. I’m initially retracing my steps; I considered descending via Lough Cummeenoughter, but I wasn’t too keen on taking a more challenging route when the weather was still fairly changeable.
As I near the col where the Devils Ladder meets the ridge, I can see the trail that goes up and over Cnoc na Toinne – the name of this peak likely refering to the wave-like appearance of the mountain’s slopes or the sound of wind on the hill.
The clouds have cleared considerably from an hour ago when I was hiking up the ridge.
The fog has cleared from Devils Ladder, which would be the quickest and easiest way back down.
I toss a coin (metaphorically), and take the longer way back via Cnoc na Toinne – it’s not really a harder route, but involves some additional elevation gain. As the trail climbs up Cnoc na Toinne, there are some nice views down over the Devils Ladders and Hags Glen…
…and over Lough Curraghmore, which is almost directly below.
Cnoc na Toinne doesn’t really have an obvious summit like Carrantuohill, it’s more of a long ridge.
After traversing the not-very-obvious highest point of the ridge (which is again covered in fog), the trail starts to descend the south-western side of Cnoc na Toinne. There’s a good view from here of the Devils Ladder route which is roughly parallel.
This route is called the Zig Zags, as the descent zig-zags steeply down the side of the ridge.
As the trail descends there are some great views back down Hags Glen and the bottom of Devils Ladder, where the Two Tiny Hikers provide some scale!
The Zig Zags route finishes near the bottom of the Devils Ladders, and the rest of the route returns the same way down Hags Glen.
The only difference – other than the fact I’m now going downhill and not uphill – is that with the clouds having mostly lifted, I can now see the top of Carrauntoohil jutting up in the distance.
The Carrauntoohil hike has taken me almost exactly 4.5 hours to cover what my GPS tells me is 14.6km, versus about 13.7km on the map. Going up the Devils Ladder is fairly slow-going, but a large proportion of the route is on a very good paved trail. It’s not a difficult trail if you have hiking experience, but over 40 fatalities have occurred in the MacGillycuddy’s Reeks range – if you’re not confident you can do a Guided Carrauntoohil Ascent via a number of different routes.
Getting to Carrauntoohil
There are a few different trailheads from which you can tackle Carrauntoohil, including the “hydro-track route” via Lough Eighter from Breanlee Road, the longer and more challenging Eastern Reeks traverse from Gap of Dunloe and of course Cronin’s Yard. Cronin’s Yard is the most popular starting point, with a large carpark catering for hikers; a €2 fee is payable at the boomgate on exit (you can also pay inside by card). There’s a cafe here as well as toilets and a campground. Cronin’s Yard is 105km (1:35km drive) from Cork and 18km (25min) from Killarney
More information
- Westmeath Independent – Memorial footbridge to remember Athlone climber
- Irish Times – Fancy a swim in Ireland’s highest lake, halfway up Carrauntoohil?
- Kerry Climbing – Guided Carrauntoohil Ascents
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