All Routes
MountainIntermediateCork / Kerry
Healy Pass
The most photogenic 12 kilometres in Ireland — a hairpin ladder climbing between Cork and Kerry across the Caha Mountains.
Road type: R574 mountain switchbacks
The Ride
What the road feels like.
The Healy Pass isn't long enough to be a destination on its own — it's a jewel you drop into a longer ride. Twelve kilometres of switchbacks connecting Adrigole on Bantry Bay with Lauragh on the Kenmare River, climbing to 334 metres over the Caha Mountains.
Approach from the south. The road tightens, then starts stacking hairpins up the mountainside. Halfway up there's a stone crucifix and a car park where you can look down at every corner you just rode. Then it flips over the top and the Kerry side opens up — greener, softer, all the way to Kenmare.
Highlights
- 01Twelve stacked hairpins on the Cork side
- 02The summit crucifix viewpoint
- 03Views of Bantry Bay, the Caha range and the Beara Peninsula
- 04Perfect combo with the Beara loop or Ring of Kerry
Cafés & Stops
- Josie's RestaurantLauragh
Homemade Irish stew at the northern foot of the pass.
Ride Safe
- Blind, downhill hairpins. Late apex and use the whole lane.
- Wet moss on the road even in dry weather — treat every corner like it's damp.
- Popular with cyclists at weekends.
Field Notes
From the road.
