Great Skellig Nature Reserve, Nature reserve in County Kerry, Ireland
The Great Skellig Nature Reserve is a protected area on a remote rocky island off the coast of County Kerry, in the southwest of Ireland. The island rises steeply from the Atlantic Ocean, with tall cliffs on all sides and a sparse cover of low plants and grasses on the rocky ground above.
The island was home to a community of early Christian monks who built a monastery there, and those stone structures have survived to this day. In 1988, the Irish government placed the area under official protection to safeguard its wildlife.
The reserve sits on Skellig Michael, a rocky island that early Irish monks chose as a place of solitary life, and the ruins of their monastery are still visible today. That monastery is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which draws visitors who want to see both the old stone buildings and the seabird colonies nesting around them.
Landing on the island is not permitted, so a boat trip is the only way to get close and see the cliffs and seabirds. Tours depart from nearby coastal villages such as Portmagee and Valentia Island, and conditions at sea can change quickly, so warm and waterproof clothing is a good idea.
Up to 4,000 puffins are known to nest on Skellig Michael alone, making it one of the densest puffin colonies in Ireland. The surrounding waters have also been visited by basking sharks, leatherback turtles, and minke whales, animals that are rarely seen so close to shore elsewhere along the Irish coast.
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