Bog, mountains and wild Atlantic light
Connemara is the wild west of Ireland: a landscape of quartzite mountains called the Twelve Bens, peat bogs, dry-stone walls and lakes scattered like shattered glass. Connemara National Park has trails to the top of Diamond Hill, and Kylemore Abbey, a castle-like house on the shore of a lake, is the region's most famous building. The small town of Clifden makes a good base, and the Sky Road loops above the sea. Irish is spoken in parts of the region, and the Connemara pony is a local breed.