The Climbers Inn
A traditional walkers’ inn in Glencar serving food and drinks, with a long connection to the surrounding mountains. Check Instagram for current kitchen times.
Lyranes Upper, Glencar, Co. Kerry, V93 RX23ModerateRidge · Iveragh
Cnoc na gCapall
Colly and Dreenagh.
A circuit from Ballaghisheen Pass across the rounded Cnoc na gCapall tops, continuing over Colly’s broad mountain ridge before returning through Dreenagh.
Also known as Knocknacappul.
DISTANCE
8.29km
ASCENT
605m
HIGH POINT
667m
My time 5 hr 04 · open mountain and pathless ridge GRADE GUIDE ↗
Reading the map…
INTERACTIVE TERRAIN · ACTUAL GPX TRACKACTUAL GPX TRACK
A recorded time is not a planning estimate. Build your own from pace, ascent, ground, weather and daylight.
01 · DECIDE
Is this your day?
ELEVATION PROFILE
A 605 m climb to a recorded 667 m.
The circuit climbs steadily from Ballaghisheen Pass across the Cnoc na gCapall tops and Colly’s ridge before descending through Dreenagh.
Reading the forecast
605 m ascent · 518 m descent
THE LINE
A high, open circuit above Ballaghisheen.
The route leaves Bealach Oisín, Ballaghisheen Pass, and climbs west across the rounded tops of Cnoc na gCapall, the hill of the horses, anglicised as Knocknacappul. Beyond them, the ground rises towards Colly East and then Colly, where the recording reaches 667 m close to the mapped 679 m summit. The outward ridge gives long views towards the MacGillycuddy’s Reeks and across the interior of Iveragh. The return initially retraces the high ground before breaking away through Dreenagh to close the circuit at the pass.
High on Colly’s north-eastern slopes, a little over two hundred metres off the recorded line, a spring rises into a small natural pool and runs off as a stream. It is William Scott’s Well, regarded locally as a holy well, and it sits just below the old Waterville to Killorglin road. The Survey has it named after a man who died on the spot. Nobody has written down who he was.
- 01Ballaghisheen PassThe circuit begins at approximately 163 m and immediately enters open mountain ground.
- 02Cnoc na gCapallThe ascent crosses a succession of rounded tops, gaining height steadily above the pass.
- 03Colly EastThe ridge rises towards the approximately 600 m eastern top with wide views across Iveragh.
- 04CollyThe recording reaches its 667 m high point close to Colly’s mapped 679 m summit and cairn.
- 05Retraced ridgeThe return heads east over the high ground already crossed on the outward leg.
- 06DreenaghA separate descending line through Dreenagh completes the circuit at Ballaghisheen Pass.
William Scott’s Well is Archaeological Survey record KE081-003, described from A. O’Sullivan and J. Sheehan, The Iveragh Peninsula: An Archaeological Survey of South Kerry (Cork University Press, 1996), which gives both the holy-well tradition and the man it is named for as local information. The two hundred metres is measured from the recorded GPX to the published coordinate, so the well is near this route rather than on it. Bealach Oisín is the Irish name for Ballaghisheen Pass recorded by the Placenames Database, which places it on the boundary of Dromod and Glanbehy parishes. Cnoc na gCapall means the hill of the horses.
Forecast for around 650 m
Reading the forecast…
NOW
WIND
TODAY’S PEAK RAIN CHANCE
Reading the forecast…
–cloud
–humidity
–km/h peak gust
Strongest wind today–
Peak gust–
RECENT RAINFALL · LIKELY GROUND
NEXT SIX HOURS · swipe
Reading the forecast
Forecast. This is a modelled estimate for this route’s high ground; conditions can differ sharply across the mountain. Derived from Open-Meteo forecast data ↗.
HAZARDS & OPTIONSKnow the commitment.
The route crosses pathless or faintly tracked open mountain where navigation becomes difficult in cloud.
Boggy ground, wet grass and rock can be slippery after rain.
Rock bands and a nearby cliff edge require care, particularly in poor visibility.
The broad ridge is exposed to wind with little shelter once above the pass.
Several fences and old fence lines cross the route; use established crossing points where available and never damage a fence.
The return through Dreenagh leaves the outward ridge, so it should not be followed by sight alone in cloud.
Before Colly, the clearest retreat is east along the known outward ridge to Ballaghisheen Pass. If visibility deteriorates, avoid dropping from the broad ridge onto an unfamiliar slope. After leaving the retraced section for Dreenagh, follow the recorded line carefully rather than improvising a more direct descent.
ABOVE BALLAGHISHEEN PASS
My photographs.
03 · GO
Getting there.
Start well.
STARTBallaghisheen Pass
Select coordinates to copy
The walk starts and finishes at Ballaghisheen Pass. Roadside space is limited and conditions can change, so confirm a safe, legal place to leave a vehicle without blocking the narrow road, gates, landowners or emergency access. Respect all signs, fences, livestock and private property.
ROUTE FILE
Take the route with you.
The original GPX, exactly as walked. Load it into your watch, phone or offline mapping before you leave signal.
Distance, recorded time, track geometry and elevation come from my own files; the 605 m elevation gain is the figure HiiKER recorded. Published summit mapping gives Colly as 679 m; my track reaches 667 m.
Download original GPXcnoc-na-gcapall-colly-dreenagh.gpx · as recorded
Confirm the download when your browser asks, then open the file from your browser’s downloads and your mapping app will offer to take it. HiiKER and Garmin Explore both do; the route loads on HiiKER’s free tier, though its EastWest mapping of the Irish uplands is a paid layer. Onto a watch: import the GPX into Garmin Connect, Komoot or Strava and send it to the device from there.
A broad ridge with few visual anchors.
The walking is mostly grassy. Navigation is the hard part.
Cnoc na gCapall and Colly stand above open, exposed terrain. The circuit needs confident navigation when cloud removes the pass, the ridge and the return through Dreenagh from view.
Before you leave
- Check the forecast and warnings
- Plan your daylight
- Save the GPX or an offline map
- Pack footwear and layers
- Share your route and return time
- 01Check the mountain forecastReview cloud base, wind, rainfall and warnings for the Iveragh high ground.
- 02Navigate independentlyCarry suitable mapping and know how to hold the broad ridge and identify the Dreenagh descent.
- 03Watch the groundGive wet bog, rock bands and cliff edges additional space in poor visibility.
Leave a plan.
Tell someone your route and return time. For emergencies in Ireland call 112 or 999 and ask for Mountain Rescue.
More in Iveragh
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Post-hike picks.
A small, personal shortlist around Ballaghisheen and Glencar.