Hillwalking on Achill, Co Mayo, Ireland
Achill Island and the Curraun Peninsula offer a hillwalking paradise. Unlike many other popular walking destinations in the west of Ireland, where access to the land is becoming increasingly restricted, most of the countryside on Achill is in common ownership which means that it is freely open and accessible for hillwalking.
Achill Walking Guides
View and download detailed walking guides for Achill Island walks
Achill Walks Festival 2008
Sat 15th - Mon 17th March
Full details of 2008 Achill Walks Festival
The Achill Walks Festival is an annual event held in March that offers guided walks and entertainment for walkers. The 2003 Achill Walks Festival attracted over 80 participants and was a hugely enjoyable event. A report on this event, including photographs, and schedules from more recent Walks Festivals are available on our Walks Festival pages.  Achill Island offers two significant peaks, Slievemore mountain at 671m and Croaghaun at 668m. Croaghaun is remarkable for its north-east face which falls away dramatically from almost its peak down to sea level. These cliffs are said to be the highest in Europe. The north-east face of Croaghaun is also home to the highest corrie lake in Ireland, Bunnafreva Lough West, which perches precariously at over 1000ft above sea level. At its western edge, Croaghaun looks down on the beautiful and remote valley of Keem Bay, on the other side of which are the spectacular cliffs of Benmore and the promontory Achill Head.
 Other peaks on Achill Island include Minaun (466m), which offers the much-photographed view of Keel strand and lake and lower Achill. Minaun is also accessible via a maintenance road for the transmissions masts located close to the top, hence the number of photographs taken from this spot! This drive also makes Minaun a very popular spot to visit at dusk on New Year's Eve to watch the last sunset over Europe.
The Curraun Peninsula provides at least two significant peaks, Polranny Hill (452m) and Curraun Hill (524m), the latter of which also offers spectacular views across Clew Bay to Croagh Patrick and northern Connemara. The valley between Polranny Hill and Curraun Hill contains several small lakes and a large forested area, and is criss-crossed by a number of trails. You should not expect to meet many other walkers in this remote valley.
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