Natural Wonders in Co. Donegal

1.Assaranca Waterfall (Eas a' Ranca)

A waterfall you can watch from your car door

Eas a' Ranca, better known as Assaranca or Ardara Waterfall, tumbles about four metres down a dark, moss-covered rock face on the coast road west of Ardara — and it is quite literally feet from your car door.

Highlights

• Waterfall a few feet from the roadside
• Free lay-by parking for about ten cars
• Most dramatic after heavy rain

Facilities

Good for kids · Wheelchair access

2.Crohy Head Sea Arch

A 25-metre sea arch reached by a 10-minute walk

A twin-arched sea stack — locally Na Brístí, "the breeches" — rising from the Atlantic just off the Crohy Head peninsula, reached by a short walk over a grassy field with no visitor centre, no café and no crowd.

3.Malin Head

The island's most northerly tip, with an 1805 tower

Malin Head is the island's most northerly point — a windswept Donegal headland of sea cliffs, the 1805 Banba's Crown signal tower and long Atlantic views. Entry is free and it is open all day.

Highlights

• Most northerly point of the island
• 1805 Lloyd's signal tower at Banba's Crown
• Hell's Hole sea cavern and Devil's Bridge arch

Facilities

Good for kids · Wheelchair access

4.Pólifreann or Hells Hole

a 250ft sea chasm where the tide thunders in

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.

Highlights

• 250-ft chasm where the tide thunders in
• Ireland's most northerly point at Banba's Crown
• 1805 Lloyd's signal tower

Facilities

Good for kids

5.Caves of Maghera

Sea caves you can only enter at low tide

A wild Donegal strand where over 20 sea caves, arches and tunnels hide beneath Slievetooey mountain — reachable only when the tide drops.

Highlights

• More than 20 sea caves, 8 arches and 5 tunnels cut into the cliffs
• Nearly 5km of white sand at low tide
• Caves are only accessible at low tide

Facilities

Good for kids

6.Fairy Bridges

Blow holes and a wish-granting stone chair

A free, open-air coastal feature on the Wild Atlantic Way where the sea blasts through natural rock arches and a carved stone seat is said to grant wishes. Locals have called this fairy-haunted ground their town's original tourist attraction since the 1800s.

Highlights

• Natural sea arches and 'puffing' blow holes
• The Wishing Chair stone seat
• Roguey Walk clifftop trail

Facilities

Good for kids · Wheelchair access

7.Glenevin Waterfall

a 12m wedge waterfall at the end of a gentle 1km walk

A gentle, well-signposted riverside trail climbs the wooded Glenevin Valley to a wedge-shaped waterfall that tumbles into a foamy pool called Pohl-an-eas — and it costs nothing to visit.

Highlights

• 30–40 ft wedge-shaped waterfall
• Easy 1 km riverside trail
• Picnic areas and wooden footbridges

Facilities

Good for kids · Wheelchair access

8.Great Pollet Sea Arch

the island's largest sea arch, 20m over the Atlantic

Ireland's largest sea arch — a near-perfect 20 m quartzite span carved by Atlantic storms off the Fanad Peninsula, now reached by a short new cliff path.

Highlights

• Ireland's largest sea arch, almost 20 m high
• 250-million-year-old Precambrian quartzite coastline
• New 500 m access path opened April 2022

9.Secret Waterfall

A waterfall hidden in a sea cave at low tide

Largy Burn drops off a low cliff inside a roofless sea cave, sending the water straight into Donegal Bay — a spot on the Slieve League peninsula that is only reachable on foot and only around low tide.

Highlights

• Waterfall falling inside a roofless sea cave
• Reachable only during a low-tide window
• Tiny free car park at Largy Viewing Point

Facilities

Good for kids