After a few days in Dublin, I wanted to take a break in the nature and find a nice and quiet place to spend a few days. It was while leafing through the Lonely Planet that I discovered the Glendalough Lakes region. Glendalough means in Gaelic the valley of the two lakes and it is certainly the place where you will find the most tourists if you stop in the park. It is one of the most beautiful places in the whole country. Originally it was a large monastic complex, but today what attracts tourists are the two jet-black lakes. The valley that formed around the lakes is simply splendid and, icing on the cake, you can walk around it, provided you have good shoes and a little bit of breath.
On the parking lot in Glendalough there is a tourist information center. Here you can find food and drink, information and all kinds of maps about the region. Outside there are signposts that invite you to follow a trail with different difficulties. A circuit invites you to walk around the two lakes, the lower lake and the upper lake. The tour will easily take you half a day.
Reaching the lake from above, one arrives at an old monastic estate dating from the 10th century. It is necessary to cross the site to join the footpath which takes us around the lake. It is very well indicated by arrows of all colors.
The path crosses the fields and beams have been installed as a path. Beware, these can be slippery! The path goes up then down to reach the end of the lake. We then go back up on the other side to admire the view, before reaching the starting point.
So, if you come to spend a long weekend in Dublin and you, like me, want to take a nature break, I strongly advise you to go to the Wicklow national nature reserve.
