Routes

Planner

Features

Updates

App

Get the App

Mountain passes

Devil's Ladder (Carrauntoohil Ascent Route)

Mountain passes

Devil's Ladder (Carrauntoohil Ascent Route)

Highlight • Climb

Devil's Ladder (Carrauntoohil Ascent Route)

Recommended by 98 hikers out of 103

Save

Location: Kerry, Munster, Ireland

Save

See hikes here

Take Me There

Routes here

Best Hikes to Devil's Ladder (Carrauntoohil Ascent Route)

4.6

(138)

627

hikers

1. The Devil's Ladder & Carrauntoohill loop

12.5km

05:26

840m

Expert hike. Very good fitness required. Sure-footedness, sturdy shoes and alpine experience required.

Navigate

Send to Phone

Save

Expert

4.7

(189)

1,364

hikers

2. Nice trail in Hag's Glen – Carrauntoohil Summit Cross loop from Killorglin

12.5km

05:27

850m

Expert hike. Very good fitness required. Sure-footedness, sturdy shoes and alpine experience required.

Navigate

Send to Phone

Save

Expert

hikers

3. Lough Gouragh – Carrauntoohil Summit Cross loop from Glencar

8.27km

04:38

790m

Expert hike. Good fitness required. Sure-footedness, sturdy shoes and alpine experience required.

Navigate

Send to Phone

Save

Expert

Tips

Maren Ingrid

August 10, 2017

The Devil's Ladder is one of the standard routes for climbing Carrauntoohil, Ireland's highest mountain (1,038 meters). What looks like a landslide or scree field from a distance is actually the most direct route up to the summit. When the weather is good, climbing the rocks is a great adventure that should only be tackled with sure-footedness and mountain experience. When it rains, the Devil's Ladder (which is rightly named) turns into a waterfall and makes the descent in particular a very slippery and dangerous affair.

Information about the routes up Carrauntoohil can be found on the mountain rescue website: kerrymountainrescue.ie/carrauntoohil-route-descriptions.

Translated by Google •

Matthias Kopetzky

September 6, 2024

If you read the tips for this climb here, it is uncertain whether the people who gave the tips actually went through it.
If you are used to walking in the Alps with everything that goes with it, you will find this mountain a bit "strange".
The Devil's Ladder is actually a water-bearing stream bed that is quite steep, and only "sure-footedness" does not adequately describe this climb (you can't imagine the descent). In the Alps, no one would attempt a climb like this without a helmet, that's where it starts, because everything is slippery and loose. When you have managed the Devil's Ladder, you are halfway up and still working your way through raised moor and rocky scree. There are no paths in the Alpine sense. This also means that there are no, really NO, markings of any kind. Instead, fog and low-hanging clouds quickly set in, making it impossible to find your way. You shouldn't do it without a Komoot tour on your phone (or similar), because there is no way to orient yourself and the paths are hardly recognizable as such, especially in the fog.
The summit cross at the top is cool, but you should be prepared for challenges on the way down.
At the parking lot below you should have 2 euros for the fee. The pub down there is nice. There is nothing on the mountain (just for the sake of completeness).
So if you're more into hiking than climbing, you should be prepared for a 5-6 hour challenge. Without high shoes you can hardly get up and then you have to carry half the raised moor down with you, because you have to climb into passages there. Being sure-footed and not afraid of heights is something to be taken seriously and literally. I wouldn't do it without a helmet again.

Translated by Google •

Jake the hiker

October 17, 2019

The steep water-bearing Devil's Ladder is a very strenuous route to the summit. The ascent is worthwhile, however, because you will be rewarded with terrific views

Translated by Google •

Details

Informations

Elevation 740 m

Weather

Today

Wednesday 22 October

9°C

6°C

100 %

If you start your activity now...

Max wind speed: 5.0 km/h

Most visited during

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

See hikes here

Take Me There

Location: Kerry, Munster, Ireland

Other Popular Places to Check Out

Carrauntoohil Summit Cross

The highest lake in Ireland

Lough Callee

Mountain stream in Hag's Glen

Lisleibane Car Park and Carrauntoohil Trailhead

Cnoc Lochtair Summit (747 m)

Gap of Dunloe & Augher Lake

View of Lough Gouragh and Carrauntoohil (1,039 m)

Cnoc na Toinne Climb

Carrauntoohil Summit (1,039 m)

View of the MacGillycuddy's Reeks

View of Lough Gouragh and Lough Callee from the Ridge

Devil's Ladder (Carrauntoohil Ascent Route)

1. The Devil's Ladder & Carrauntoohill loop

2. Nice trail in Hag's Glen – Carrauntoohil Summit Cross loop from Killorglin

3. Lough Gouragh – Carrauntoohil Summit Cross loop from Glencar

Other Popular Places to Check Out

We value your privacy ⛰️

We value your privacy ⛰️