SKELLIG MICHAEL

A world apart, an Irish rock lost in the Atlantic, a wild, jagged island that has been a Unesco World Heritage Site since 1996. Described by Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw as "part of the dream world", Skellig Michael has a singular religious history. One can't help but imagine the daily life of the isolated, storm-tossed monks in the ^6th century, who lived on this monastic site until the ^13th century, when they moved to the mainland at Ballinskellig. Of course, even today, there are no restaurants or cafés on Skellig Michael, so don't forget to bring a picnic for your day trip. The tour offers several highlights:

The 618-step staircase up to the beehive-shaped stone huts(clochain in Gaelic) exposed to the elements at the top of the island, 218 meters above sea level. Beware of those prone to vertigo! Historians tell us that the community of monks descended these steps daily to catch their breakfast fish. A lesson in humility...

The ^6th-centurymonastic village, one of Ireland's first monasteries, is dominated by a large stone cross, known as the "Priest's Stone". The view is spectacular. An atmosphere of contemplation, isolation and prayer, ideal for clearing the head.

Thelighthouse was built around 1800 and automated in 1987. Now disused, it stands like a forgotten toy below.