The Lost Valley

A Special Area of Conservation and Natural Beauty 🌄

Before the first road was built in 1989, the Lost Valley was all but inaccessible. With no machinery or large farming equipment accessible before this, the area remained natural and largely unaffected by human intervention. The landscape has a rich history waiting to be discovered. At least seven generations of the Bourke family have walked the mountainside for more than three centuries to reach their house in the valley.

images © www.thelostvalley.ie

The Lost Valley possesses an unparalleled natural legacy, and as a result, the European Habitats Directive has declared it as a “Natural Heritage Area” and, more recently, a “Special Area of Conservation.” The Bourke family is committed to maintaining the valley’s preservation.

A unique wild Atlantic experience
Public access is strictly controlled. Only scheduled, guided tours are allowed. One group is allowed in per day to guarantee the sustainable usage of this landscape with high natural value. As a result, vulnerable eco-systems are protected but traditional sheep farming, which helped build and maintain these eco-systems, can continue. Additionally, it guarantees that every visitor will be able to appreciate the valley’s distinctive wilderness feature.

Cultural heritage

The Lost Valley is the original, untouched Ireland of yesteryear. The valley’s extensive history is unmatched. The silence, which is now unbroken by the family that used to live here and work the land, serves as a moving reminder of bygone eras. In terms of the manner of life in the nineteenth century and the truly catastrophic disruptions caused by the famine and its aftermath, it provides a unique insight into the cultural legacy of the west coast of Ireland.

Here, you can travel back in time to when kids used to play in the long-abandoned village that is now covered in hazel and bracken after the people were mercilessly uprooted as the “Great Famine” came to an end.

In such a gorgeous location, facing the Wild Atlantic, the absolute stillness and tranquility that surround the remnants of the abandoned settlement are quite stunning.