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Torc Waterfall () is a high, long cascade
The word Torc is from the Irish translation of a "wild boar", and the area is associated with legends involving wild boars. One legend is of a man who was cursed by the Devil to spend each night transformed into a wild boar, but when his secret was revealed by a local farmer, he burst into flames and disappeared into the nearby ''Devils Punchbowl'' on Mangerton Mountain from which the Owengarriff River emerged to hide the entrance to his cave beneath the Torc Waterfall. There is also the story of how the legendary Irish warrior,
The 20 meters high waterfall is formed by the Owengarriff River as it drains from the '' Devil's Punchbowl'' lough, a deep
Killarney National Park has a number of loop-trails around the Torc Waterfall of varying lengths, called the Blue, Yellow and Red Trails. The Red Trail climbs Cardiac Hill (also called ''Huntsman's Hill'' or the ''Cardiac Steps''), and involves climbing a very steep series of stone steps (the starting point is half a kilometre west of the waterfall car-park off the N71) to an observation point and stone beehive hut, half-way up Torc Mountain at circa , giving views of the
Torc Waterfall
on Tourism Ireland website or this guide. {{authority control Tourist attractions in County Kerry Landforms of County Kerry
waterfall
A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf.
Waterfalls can be formed in severa ...
formed by the Owengarriff River as it drains from the '' Devil's Punchbowl'' corrie lake at Mangerton Mountain. The waterfall, which lies at the base of Torc Mountain, in the Killarney National Park, is from Killarney
Killarney ( ; ga, Cill Airne , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Ross ...
in County Kerry
County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the cou ...
, Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. The waterfall is a popular site on the Ring of Kerry and the Kerry Way tours.
Naming
The word Torc is from the Irish translation of a "wild boar", and the area is associated with legends involving wild boars. One legend is of a man who was cursed by the Devil to spend each night transformed into a wild boar, but when his secret was revealed by a local farmer, he burst into flames and disappeared into the nearby ''Devils Punchbowl'' on Mangerton Mountain from which the Owengarriff River emerged to hide the entrance to his cave beneath the Torc Waterfall. There is also the story of how the legendary Irish warrior, Fionn MacCumhaill
Fionn mac Cumhaill ( ; Old and mga, Find or ''mac Cumail'' or ''mac Umaill''), often anglicized Finn McCool or MacCool, is a hero in Irish mythology, as well as in later Scottish and Manx folklore. He is leader of the ''Fianna'' bands of ...
, killed a magical boar on Torc mountain with his golden spear.
Geology
The 20 meters high waterfall is formed by the Owengarriff River as it drains from the '' Devil's Punchbowl'' lough, a deep cirque
A (; from the Latin word ') is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from Scottish Gaelic , meaning a pot or cauldron) and (; ). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landf ...
high above in Mangerton Mountain.
Torc Waterfall sits on a geological fault called the ''Muckross to Millstreet Fault Line''. Torc Mountain consists of 400 million-year-old Devonian
The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, w ...
Old Red Sandstone
The Old Red Sandstone is an assemblage of rocks in the North Atlantic region largely of Devonian age. It extends in the east across Great Britain, Ireland and Norway, and in the west along the northeastern seaboard of North America. It also ext ...
, but the base around Muckross Lake is circa 100 million years younger and consists of Carboniferous Limestone
Carboniferous Limestone is a collective term for the succession of limestones occurring widely throughout Great Britain and Ireland that were deposited during the Dinantian Epoch of the Carboniferous Period. These rocks formed between 363 ...
. At some stage, after the limestone was deposited, a period of tectonic-plate collision occurred and the land under Torc was lifted up 3,000 metres, re-exposing the underlying older sandstone.
Visiting
Torc Waterfall is fromKillarney
Killarney ( ; ga, Cill Airne , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Ross ...
, and from the gates of Muckross House, in the Killarney National Park. The cascade is one of the main points on the Kerry Way walking tour, and a popular stop-off location on the larger Ring of Kerry tour.
The waterfalls are a 200 metre walk from the car park (at ) just off the N71 road, and the climb to the top of the waterfalls is by way of a stone path of about a hundred steps (and circa 55 metres in elevation gain), and takes around 30 minutes to complete. Red deer
The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of wes ...
are frequently seen and heard in the area.
Killarney National Park has a number of loop-trails around the Torc Waterfall of varying lengths, called the Blue, Yellow and Red Trails. The Red Trail climbs Cardiac Hill (also called ''Huntsman's Hill'' or the ''Cardiac Steps''), and involves climbing a very steep series of stone steps (the starting point is half a kilometre west of the waterfall car-park off the N71) to an observation point and stone beehive hut, half-way up Torc Mountain at circa , giving views of the Lakes of Killarney
The Lakes of Killarney are a scenic attraction located in Killarney National Park near Killarney, County Kerry, in Ireland. They consist of three lakes - Lough Leane, Muckross Lake (also called Middle Lake) and Upper Lake.
Surroundings
Th ...
, and then looping back eastwards to join the ''Old Kenmare Road'' and descend via Torc Waterfall.
A marked hiking trail also runs from the waterfall to the top of Torc Mountain via the ''Old Kenmare Road'', however, hikers can avoid Torc Waterfall and start from the upper car-park above the waterfall (at 55 metres, ), to complete the 8–kilometre 3 hour route to the summit of Torc Mountain and back.
See also
* Ladies View * Moll's Gap * Black Valley * Gap of DunloeReferences
External links
Torc Waterfall
on Tourism Ireland website or this guide. {{authority control Tourist attractions in County Kerry Landforms of County Kerry
Killarney
Killarney ( ; ga, Cill Airne , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Ross ...
Waterfalls of the Republic of Ireland
Parks in County Kerry