Eskatarriff [Eisc an Tairbh]

About Eskatarriff [Eisc an Tairbh]

Situated in the rugged heart of the Caha Mountains on the Beara Peninsula, this sandstone peak offers a quintessential taste of West Cork’s glaciated wilderness. It is a landscape of complex rocky slabs and hidden hollows, sitting between the higher mass of Hungry Hill and the deep trench of the Glanmore Valley.

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Did You Know?

• •The name is an anglicisation of the Irish Eisc an Tairbh, which translates as ‘Rift of the Bull’, likely referring to a prominent gully or narrow rocky channel on its slopes.
• •From the summit, walkers are rewarded with a clear view north across the Kenmare River towards the jagged skyline of the MacGillycuddy's Reeks on the Iveragh Peninsula.
• •The hill is often climbed as part of a demanding high-level circuit from the Healy Pass, navigating the complex, rib-like sandstone ridges that characterise this part of the Caha range.
• •At 600.5 metres, it misses the traditional 2,000ft mark by a mere nine feet, though its position in the middle of the peninsula ensures it feels significantly more mountainous than its height suggests.
• •In this part of the Beara, a 'straight line' on a map is a conceptual myth; the terrain between the summit and its neighbours is a relentless puzzle of peat hags and awkward rock steps.