Ireland is an evergreen, emerald island famous for ancient castles, colorful Irish dances, playing the bodran and harp, rain that pours 20 times a day, dampness and sacred places full of secrets and mysteries. And thunderclouds sometimes hang so low above the earth that it seems another moment, and the sky will fall to the earth.
It is believed that Cliffs of Moher were formed around 6000 BC. Imagine for a moment - their length along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean is more than 8 kilometers. In 2010, Cliffs of Moher took fifth place in the New Wonders of the World Seascape category.
They got their name in honor of Fort Moher, which was located on the coast and was destroyed during the war with Napoleon during the construction of a signal tower.
Connection with the Druids
In ancient times, these territories were inhabited by druids - Celtic priests who possessed secret knowledge and did not want to share it with anyone. They left behind a lot of evidence of their existence. For example, in many English-language sources they write that dolmens are also "the work of their hands." In Ireland, there are hundreds of them, and apparently no one counted how many abandoned, old wells. The symbol of Celtic mythology is the well. At the time when the Celts lived in Ireland, wells were required to visit on the days of all significant religious holidays. It was during these days that the gates to the Other World were opened.
Do you know where Halloween originated? Of course in Ireland. It was a religious act that took place on the hill of Tara, in another place of worship and part of Ireland. Not many people know that it was on this day that the entrance to the Other World was opened for people and they could communicate with the spirits of their ancestors.
When the Druids felt that their religion was coming to an end, many of them decided to commit suicide and threw themselves into the sea from the highest cliff of 200 meters, taking their secrets with them .. Yes, yes, it was at the place where the Moher Cliffs are now located.
The Moher Cliffs are an iconic place in Ireland that attract a large number of suicides from all over the world. However, even more people die because of their own stupidity or accident. The last time I came here, I saw young guys jumping on a stone protruding over a cliff in the form of a springboard, holding hands. And the height of the rocks, by the way, is about 120 m. People falling down have no chance - they break on the rocks.
Believe it or not, but coming here, you must understand and realize the secret power of Moher Cliffs. When you stand or sit on the edge of a precipice, only one false step or a slight gust of wind separates you from life and death. Yes, I know it draws devilishly to many people, those who love risk and play with life and death.
Our trip to Cliffs of Moher
The most important attraction of Ireland, its calling card is the Cliffs of Moher. They are located in the west of Ireland, in County Clare, on the Atlantic Ocean. You need to see this with your own eyes, I don’t know how to convey to you with the help of words all the beauty of her majesty of the nature of Ireland, so that you understand how wonderful it is to be at the end of the world, alone with nature, real nature, to see all its strength and power , to understand that you are the smallest part of it, on which little depends.
I will not retell official information from Internet sources about the Cliffs of Moher, therefore, in order to understand what it is and why these places are so famous, I suggest that you first read the dry facts about this place from Wikipedia.
The Cliffs of Moher are 3 hours by car from Dublin, but you know, if you drive for the first time, you definitely won’t fit in 3 hours, plus 3 hours on the way back, and you still need time to see those very cliffs. We decided to rent a car, and a spark of hope lit up in my soul to see the most coveted miracle of nature, which I could only see in pictures on the Internet. It was decided to go for two days, so as not to rush anywhere, but to see everything thoroughly.
We rented a car from Go Car. The cost of renting a car for two days, taking into account the mileage, was 250 euros. We booked the Lahinch Golf and Leisure hotel near the Cliffs of Moher (20 minutes by car) in the city of Lahinch.
As expected, the road to the cliffs took almost the entire daylight hours. There were paid sections of the tracks on the road, this must be taken into account, we paid an average of about 10 euros for them. Having approached closer to the Atlantic Ocean, of course, we stopped on the road to look at all its splendor, and by the way, I want to note that for those who decide to travel by car, the road to the cliffs is very dangerous, narrow, you need to be a very careful driver, that is, an attraction begins at the entrance to the road, which leads to the same cliffs.
These days we were lucky with the weather, especially on the second day of our trip.
We reached the cliffs by 5 pm, it was still quite light, but we still had to park the car. Parking was paid - 6 euros per person. When paying for parking, they give a booklet and tickets. And there’s just nowhere else to park the car (we didn’t know about it then), there is only a road on which it’s naturally forbidden to park and fields, but you can’t put a car on them either, since they are all fenced and cows, sheep, donkeys graze on them . So we had to pay 12 euros.
By the way, at the entrance to the territory of the cliffs, no one checked our tickets, it turns out that if you are without a car, then the entrance is free for you.
We didn’t stop and waste time looking at the adverts, the territory with souvenir shops and the restaurant, we went straight and quickly to look for the place that I saw on the Internet.
Words cannot describe my feelings when I first saw what is shown in the photo below.
You know, like wow, and you are in shock ... There are no words, you stand and don’t know what to say, and you can’t say, everything around you stopped, it became indifferent, some kind of numbness or something... I only later, probably a week later, I realized that I was shocked by what I saw, I scrolled this moment in my mind many times, but I could not repeat the feelings that attacked me at the very moment when I first saw the cliffs of Moher with my own eyes, I heard the sound of water hitting the rocks.
I don’t know, it was something inexplicable, I have never seen or experienced anything like this in my life, my words will seem ridiculous to you, you will think, well, what did she already see there, rocks, like rocks , water, sky ... Yes, you are right, but at that moment I felt the power, the power of nature and I understood why people admire the nature of Ireland, it is in the west, where the real Ireland is located, not in the capital.
But I’ll tell you for sure, if you want to see the real Ireland, you must go to the west, northwest, southwest, in other words, to the Atlantic Ocean, where you will see real nature, untouched by man.
The wildest thing for me was to see that the area, for security reasons or for other reasons, which people from different parts of the globe just come to see, is surrounded by high slabs; the Irish love to put up obstacles. These same slabs are almost chest height for a person with a height of 1.70, it is very difficult to take a photo. Of course, there are viewing binoculars, but this is something you want to look without obstacles.
We were delighted with what we saw and decided that tomorrow at dawn we would return, well, to hell with it, we would pay another 12 euros, but we would spend the whole day in the bosom of nature.And we did it.
Next day, continuing to travel along different paths, we stumbled upon a sign - parking. We went there and as it turned out, this is a private parking, it costs only 2 euros per car and after walking from this place for about 20 minutes on foot, you can find yourself on the other side of the cliffs of Moher. We thought about it and decided to take a chance, what if this route would be more interesting and we were not mistaken. I understand that this business with parking was illegal, because, when approaching the cliffs, everything was fenced everywhere.
We spent a chic day in the bosom of nature, went around the entire valley framing the rocks, took many interesting photos, if only we could have a picnic in this place ... To relax, sunbathe... Until 4 pm the sun was in the sky, the heat was just not typical of Ireland. I want to believe that all this was for us! We had an amazing day and did not regret that we did not return to the starting point of the Cliffs of Moher, but looked at them from the other end.
But despite the rains, don't be afraid to travel around Ireland in autumn to see this sacred place and another wonder of nature. When the rain falls continuously, many streams rush down in a continuous stream, and the strongest wind from below does not allow them to fall into the sea, twisting the water jets and lifting them up in the form of fountains.
You can see this natural miracle only on these rocks and only in autumn.
But there is a small problem - in autumn it is too gloomy, cold, rainy and slippery, and because of the thick fog you can not see anything at all. And also, in autumn, the wind blows off your feet, and the ocean rages and "roars" at the rocks of Moher Cliffs so terrifyingly that you need to be at least Irish in order to maintain composure and not rush as fast as you can back to the car.
And if you are lucky with the weather, and there is no squally wind and rain with fog, you can see the Aran Islands from the rocks and enjoy the view of such an endless, serene and not at all scary Atlantic Ocean. True, such weather here is more rare than constant.
Many do not dare to reach the end, turn back. Every second there is a feeling that right now you will be carried into the ocean by another gust of wind. But you go on and on, enjoying the power of the elements, this power contained in the ocean, and admiring the views. The further you go, the more you realize how small you are compared to nature.
On the final note
The cliffs, which captivate everyone with their grandeur, are considered the main attraction of Ireland, as they say in many sources for tourists. But nowhere you will read that this place is sacred and filled with power. Staying here you need to be careful even in your thoughts.
Summing up my story, I will honestly say that real Ireland - at the coast of the Atlantic. Of course, without question, I recommend visiting the famous Cliffs of Moher!!!
I was again convinced that nature creates such monuments that not every architect can do. And when you look into the distance of the ocean, you feel all its boundless power.
In this place, time stops, and thoughts about everyday problems disappear and you just want to soak up all this luxury with your eyes.
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Thank you for reading. You are always welcome to check my posts.
All photos are original.
"Do what is right, mot what is easy nor what is popular" - R. T. BENNETH.
With love @lili255