Muckross Lake Walk

All good things come in threes: the third published walk takes us through Ireland's oldest national park, Killarney National Park. Around the Muckross House there are huge, beautiful rhododendrons and azaleas, a rock garden, an arboretrum and many other attractions in a spacious park. Muckross Abbey also impresses us with an ancient yew tree in the middle of a cloister. During the subsequent circumnavigation of Muckross Lakes, we are amazed by the old oaks. Ilexes (holly) thrive under their spreading treetops. Only moss grows in the shade of the ancient yew trees. Thus, over time, an enchanting fairy forest has emerged in this area with ever-changing weather. Only the extremely invasive, wild rhododendron (with its beautiful purple flowers) scares us. It's now a real nuisance. With its unbelievably fast-growing and wildly rampant undergrowth, it robs the old trees of their living space. In the meantime, the park administration is fighting it with slash-and-burn and consequent felling. At the end of our hike, there are still a few meters of altitude to admire the Torc waterfall. Totally worth it. All in all a wonderful round. The only thing that bothered me was the high proportion of asphalt, in contrast to the rain, which accompanied us from about half the way.

Today our first real hike in Ireland, which really had it all. Not because of the incline or the length, the highlights in this already lush green vegetation are incredible. To start, to the parking lot near Killarney and directly headed for Muckross Abbey. An ancient abbey with a yew tree in the middle of the ruins. A dreamlike motif in the sunshine. We were very lucky with the sun and the weather. Horse-drawn carriages crossed our path, the tourists are driven back and forth between the locations. Afterwards, purposefully to Muckross House in bright sunshine and then to the highlight in this region - Trog Waterfall. A roaring, huge waterfall in the middle of the lush green. After some pictures and many tourists, we climbed the steps up to the Old Kenmare Road. Afterwards, the circuit around Muckross Lake to Brickeen Bridge began on wonderful paths to the Mosswood. Back at the parking lot, we quickly fed the ravens, they are almost tame and beautiful. A great day with wonderful highlights. Best highlight is the Mosswood and Trog Waterfall. Great day and hopefully we will see many more highlights in the coming days. Have a nice Monday everyone 🙋🏻‍♂️ Collection Ireland: https://www.komoot.com/de-de/collection/3670208/-irland-2026

This beautiful loop in Muckross, Killarney National Park, takes us through gardens, an arboretum and past the lakeshore to Torc Waterfall, which, thanks to the heavy downpours of the past few days, carries plenty of water down the mountain. A breathtakingly beautiful landscape with great stone bridges, varied flora and views of various bodies of water makes the tour entertaining and eventful. The old monastery is also visited (unplanned). The winding building is examined with curiosity and life in it at that time takes shape in our imagination. The weather is incredible. Rain, wind, sun and clouds change faster than you can open the umbrella. Multiple rainbows are admired and it's never so wet to make you grumpy. We can definitely recommend this tour to explore the national park. It took us 9 hours to complete the round. You shouldn't take less time either. P.S.: I couldn't get by with 36 pictures here. Despite rigorous and repeated review of the photos. So it should be a (further) exception to the self-imposed rule of a maximum of 36 photos some time ago.

First, we hiked to Torc Waterfall and then continued around Muckross Lake. The vegetation 🌳🪾🌲 there resembles an enchanted fairytale forest. Unfortunately, the cafe was closed halfway through the hike. But we were able to observe two robins up close, or they observed us. Back at Muckross House 🏰, we finally had some much-needed refreshments and then took a look inside the house. On the way back 🚗, we visited Muckross Abbey, a ruined Franciscan monastery (these photos are the first ones because they aren't on the tour).

House Lake Abbey Gardens And as a bonus: Torc Waterfall

In Killarney National Park a walk, starting at Muckross House, past Torc waterfall and a climb to Torc mountain further around two large lakes. A lot of rain and wind hence the climb to the top of Torc mountain was broken off after 80% and we turned around, the rain and wind became so strong that it no longer felt safe. Being able to walk dry for the first 5 minutes and the last hour, further one big heavy rain shower 😕, but completed the 17,3 km and it still felt fulfilled

This tour is definitely more worthwhile than the much-praised but tourist-overrun Gap of Dunloe. There's so much beautiful nature to see, and truly enjoyable peace and quiet. We certainly didn't regret starting the day with this tour.

This hike will take you through the Dinis Tea House tour with three great extras. The Millenium Yew trees at the beginning and the Torc Waterfall and the Gardens towards the end. You arrive to the Torc Waterfall through a slightly challenging detour but you avoid the crowds for some time.