Errigal

About this place

Errigal is a 751 m mountain near Gweedore in County Donegal, about 26 km in a straight line north-west of Letterkenny. It is the highest peak of the Derryveagh Mountains and the highest in Donegal, and the most southerly and steepest peak of the chain known as the «Seven Sisters». Besides Errigal, the Seven Sisters include Muckish, Aghla Beg, Aghla More and Mackoght, the nearest peak, also known as «Little Errigal». The mountain is famous for the pinkish glow of its quartzite at sunset and for its ever-changing shape depending on where you see it from, and it was voted «Ireland's most iconic mountain» in a walkers' poll. Its pale grey cone rises above brown and green bog and moorland, and its summit is mirrored in small lakes at its foot. In the nearby Dunlewey valley the ruins of an old church stand in front of the mountain, and from the top the view takes in the Donegal coast, its islands and Glenveagh National Park. The climb is free and usually takes two to three hours there and back from the roadside car park, but the upper slopes are loose scree and fog comes down quickly, so carry a map and warm clothes.