The Ring of Kerry (or Iveragh Peninsula to give it its correct name) is the Kerry tourist trail and part of the mystical & unspoilt region of Ireland that has attracted visitors for hundreds of years. Its spectacular beauty is beyond question and it is a natural centre for outdoor pursuits that include golf, water-sports, cycling, walking, running, riding and the very best fishing in freshwater rivers for salmon & trout and at sea for bass, ray, pollack, conger eel, cod, flounder, wrasse, mullet, mackerel and tuna.

The Ring of Kerry has some of the Europe's finest beaches (See Rossbeigh in the Ross-Maine area) that provide all the facilities for a traditional seaside holiday. Above all, the Ring of Kerry provides an amazing insight into the ancient heritage of Ireland - see the Iron Age Forts & Ogham Stones, Old Monasteries and a landscape carved out of rock by the last Ice Age 10,000 years ago. Visitors to Ireland should not miss a trip to the beautiful Ring of Kerry Tourism.

The smaller but equally scenic Skellig Ring, which spins off the loop, is less travelled as the roads are too narrow for tour buses.

Centred on the Ring, the 700 sq km Kerry International Dark-Sky Reserve was designated in 2014. Low light pollution offers fantastic stargazing when skies are clear.

If you want to get further off the beaten track, explore the interior of the peninsula – on foot along the eastern section of the Kerry Way from Killarney to Glenbeigh, or by car or bike on the minor roads that cut through the hills, notably the Ballaghisheen Pass between Killorglin and Waterville, or the Ballaghbeama Gap from Glenbeigh to Gearha Bridge on the R568.

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Cahergal and Leacanabuaile - Old Irish Stone Forts or Ring Forts

The Stone forts of Cahergal & Leacanabuaile are located in an area know as "over the water" by the locals in Cahirciveen. Find the Old Barracks in Cahirciveen, located down by the waters edge, with the barracks on your right hand side continue over the bridge immediately ahead, at the next crossroads take a left and follow the signposts for the forts, they are located approximately two miles on the left (head in the direction of Ballycarberry castle). Also well worth visiting in this area is Ballycarbery Castle.

Cahergal Stone Fort

A few hundred meters on from Ballycarbery Castle is the stone fort of Cahergalbuilt around 600AD. It is well worth a visit. The current structure has undergone some reconstruction and while the purist may say it is too “clean and pure” it is an impressive site. With walls approx 6 m high and some 3 m thick this dry stone wall fort is one of the best examples of an early medieval stone forts to be found on the ring of Kerry.

Leacanabuaile Stone Fort

The stone fort of Leacanabuaile Stone Fort on the hillside. It is a fine, partly-reconstructed stone fort on a massive rock foundation, it's stone walls enclosing an almost circular area 70 feet in diameter. Protected on three sides by steep grassy slopes, the entrance is on the eastern side. The walls, mostly 10 feet thick and with irregular steps leading up on the inside, contain the remnants of a square dwelling house built on top of earlier circular ones; another clochan on the western side has a cavity leading to a long souterrain. Excavation produced Iron and Bronze Age objects, suggesting the existence of an early Christian farming community.

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