Pólifreann, or Hell's Hole, is the dramatic chasm on the cliffs at Malin Head where the Atlantic surges through a narrow 250-foot cleft, booming through the cavern below and throwing spray high on stormy days.
A 750 m coastal path runs west from Banba's Crown to Hell's Hole (Pólifreann), a deep chasm in the cliff face about 250 ft long, 8 ft wide and 100 ft deep. The tide rushes into the narrow neck with a thunderous roar; the cliffs are unfenced, so keep back and check the tide before approaching.
The headland's summit and Ireland's most northerly point, crowned by the 1805 Lloyd's signal tower. The tower interior is closed, but the Atlantic panorama, the Inishtrahull Island lighthouse and, on clear days, the Scottish hills are the reward.
A short walk past the tower, white stones spell out EIRE 80, a restored Second World War ground marker that warned Allied pilots they were flying over neutral Ireland. It is one of the headland's most photogenic spots.
The main waymarked 2.5 km loop from the car park links the tower, the EIRE sign and Hell's Hole in roughly an hour. It is mostly easy going but rocky and exposed near the chasm, so bring sturdy shoes and a windproof jacket.
Below Banba's Crown to the east, this scientifically important post-glacial raised beach preserves old shorelines up to 80 ft above today's sea. Visitors hunt the shingle for agate, jasper, cornelian and serpentine.
Esky Bay and the Scheildren rock stacks nearby stood in for the planet Ahch-To in The Last Jedi, and a Millennium Falcon replica was built on the clifftop in 2016. Guided Star Wars walking tours set off from Banba's Crown.
A nearby beach set between the Knockamany cliffs and some of Europe's largest dunes. It is impassable at high tide and swimming is strictly prohibited, but the Atlantic surf makes a fine spectacle and the wreck of the Twilight, lost in 1889, sometimes shows at low water.
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