Most popular landmarks and natural wonders in Sligo
#1 Classiebawn Castle is a country house on the Mullaghmore Peninsula near the village of Cliffoney in County Sligo, Ireland. It was built in the late 19th century for British Prime Minister Lord Palmerston (1784–1865) on what was then a 4,000-hectare (10,000-acre) estate.
#2 Benbulbin (Irish: Binn Ghulbain), sometimes Benbulben or Ben Bulben, is a steep-sided and flat-topped mountain in County Sligo, Ireland. It is part of the Dartry Mountains, in an area sometimes called "Yeats Country". Benbulbin, 526 m (1,726 ft) high, formed as a nunatak during the last Ice Age. Benbulbin is a protected site, designated as a County Geological Site by Sligo County Council.
#3 Markree Castle is a castle located in Collooney, County Sligo, Ireland. It is the ancestral seat of the Cooper family, partially moated by the River Unshin. Today it is a small family-run hotel. In the 1830s the Observatory on the grounds of the Castle had the largest refracting telescope in the world. What today is known as the asteroid 9 Metis was discovered there in the 1840s by the Coopers' observatory staff.
#4 The Caves of Kesh, also known as the Keash Caves or the Caves of Keshcorran (Irish: Uaimheanna na Céise), are a series of limestone caves located near the village of Keash, County Sligo, Ireland. The caves are situated on the west side of Keshcorran Hill (part of the Bricklieve Mountains) and consist of sixteen simple chambers, some interconnecting. The caves have been used by man over several millennia, and it has long been suggested that they were the site of ancient religious practice or gathering such as Lughnasadh. Excavations carried out in the early 20th century, particularly those by Robert Francis Scharff, discovered significant animal remains. Among others, these included bones of brown bear, arctic lemming, Irish elk, and grey wolf.
#5 Sruth in Aghaidh an Aird (Irish for "stream against the height"), is Ireland’s highest waterfall, with a height of 150 metres (492 ft). It is in the Dartry Mountains in the north-west of Ireland, marking part of the border between County Sligo and County Leitrim. It flows for around 200 days a year, from the southern side of the Darty Mountains plateau, into Glencar Lough. The waterfall's Irish name comes from the phenomenon where southerly winds sometimes blow the water backwards up and over the cliff edge. A public hiking trail has been established allowing access close to the base of the falls. The waterfall is a prominent landmark, visible for many miles, and it formerly marked the ancient boundary of the túath of Cairbre Drom Cliabh, now the boundary between counties Sligo and Leitrim.
#6 Tobernalt (Irish: Tobar an Aillt, meaning 'well of the cliff') is a holy well in north County Sligo, Ireland near the southwest corner of Lough Gill. It is an ancient natural spring dating back to the 5th century as a pagan meeting place and later a Penal Law mass site. As of 2016 it is maintained by St John's Parish, Carraroe, Sligo. Masses are conducted at the site. The devoted from surrounding counties and elsewhere make pilgrimages to the site on Garland Sunday when a day-long schedule of devotions is held. Near the well there is a reputed "healing stone" associated with St. Patrick. Patrick's fingerprints are said to be on the stone.
#7 Knocknarea (; Irish: Cnoc na Riabh) is a large prominent hill west of Sligo town in County Sligo, Ireland, with a height of 327 metres (1,073 ft). Knocknarea is visually striking as it has steep limestone cliffs and stands on the Coolera Peninsula overlooking the Atlantic coast. At the summit is one of Ireland's largest cairns, known as Queen Maeve's Cairn, which is believed to contain a Neolithic passage tomb. In recent years there has been concern that the ancient cairn, a protected National Monument, is being damaged by climbers. There are also remains of several smaller tombs on the summit. Knocknarea overlooks the Carrowmore tombs and is thought to have been part of an ancient ritual landscape (see Bricklieve Mountains).
#8 Carrowmore (Irish: An Cheathrú Mhór, 'the great quarter') is a large group of megalithic monuments on the Coolera Peninsula to the west of Sligo, Ireland. They were built in the 4th millennium BC, during the Neolithic (New Stone Age). There are 30 surviving tombs with another 25 which have been destroyed since 1800, making Carrowmore one of the largest clusters of megalithic tombs in Ireland, and one of the 'big four' along with Carrowkeel, Loughcrew and Brú na Bóinne. Carrowmore is the heart of an ancient ritual landscape which is dominated by the mountain of Knocknarea to the west. It is a protected National Monument.
#9 Truskmore (Irish: Trosc Mór, meaning 'big cod') is a mountain with a height of 647 metres (2,123 ft) on the border of County Sligo and County Leitrim in Ireland. It is the highest summit in the Dartry Mountains and the highest in Sligo. It is in the middle of a plateau whose edges are marked by high cliffs, including Benbulbin (526m), Benwiskin (514m), Slievemore (597m) and Kings Mountain (462m). The top of Truskmore lies in County Sligo, a short distance from the border with County Leitrim; however, the mountain itself is in both counties.
#10 Carrowkeel is a cluster of passage tombs in south County Sligo, Ireland. They were built in the 4th millennium BC, during the Neolithic era. The monuments are on the Bricklieve Hills (An Bricshliabh, 'the speckled hills'), overlooking Lough Arrow, and are sometimes called the Bricklieve tombs. They are named after the townland of Carrowkeel in which most of them are located. Nearby are the Caves of Kesh and Heapstown Cairn. The Carrowkeel tombs are protected National Monuments and are considered one of the "big four" passage tomb cemeteries in Ireland, along with Carrowmore, Brú na Bóinne and Loughcrew.