Overview
The Maumturks are a quartzite ridge, not the limestone some older guides claim, running parallel to the Twelve Bens across the Lough Inagh valley, in the heart of Connemara in County Galway. In Irish they are Sléibhte Mhám Toirc, ‘the mountains of the pass of the boar’. Binn idir an dá Log reaches 702m (2,303ft). The peaks are a shade lower than the Bens across the valley, and that is part of the appeal: the ridges are exposed and unwaymarked, and the range feels quiet. The Mám Éan geotrail explains the local geology and the history of the pilgrimage pass.
Landscape and geology
The rock is very old. The quartzite, marble and schist here formed between 475 and 460 million years ago in the Caledonian mountain-building, and the glaciers of the last two million years did the carving, gouging the corries, U-shaped valleys and knife-edge ridges that make the skyline. Some approaches still follow relief roads built during the Great Famine of the 1840s. Historically the passes were shepherds’ routes and pilgrim paths, and the range forms a section of the Western Way long-distance trail.
The walk to Máméan
The waymarked Western Way crosses the range at Máméan (Mám Éan, ‘the pass of the birds’), a gap near the middle of the ridge that has been a pilgrimage site to St Patrick for centuries. There is a small chapel, a holy well and a Stations of the Cross, and under the Penal Laws it served as a secret mass rock. The pass itself is a sheltered, quiet spot with the land opening out on either side, and the ground leading to it is open and often boggy.
Sport Ireland reports repairs on part of the Western Way trail there, and a separate closure on the unsafe boardwalk near Lackavrea. Check the current notices and maps before you set out, obey closure signs, and leave dogs at home on the Western Way. Parking is limited and informal roadside parking is not a safe assumption, so use only official, signed parking and do not block the single-track road.
The ridge and the Maumturks Challenge
The serious undertaking is the full ridge from Maam Cross to Leenaun, a single hard day rather than a multi-day trek. The University of Galway Mountaineering Club has run it as the annual ‘Maamturks Challenge’ since 1975, which tells you both that it is a rite of passage and that it is not to be underestimated. Much of the ridge is unmarked and exposed, cairns are few, and there is no easy way off once you are on it. The exposed ridge traverse requires separate mountain navigation skills and confirmed access, so check permission and current conditions before planning a crossing, and do not assume that you can leave the waymarked trail wherever you like.
Practical information and safety
The Western Way crossing is the way into the range for most visitors; the terrain does the rest of the gatekeeping.
- Navigation: carry a good detailed map of the area plus a compass, with an offline GPS track as backup. The ridge is easy to lose in cloud.
- Weather: Atlantic fronts come in fast. Check Met Éireann, dress in layers, and treat a waterproof shell and wind protection as non-negotiable on the tops.
- Footwear: sturdy, ankle-supporting boots with good grip. After heavy rain the quartzite slabs turn greasy; in a hard winter they ice up and you will want spikes.
- Emergency: phone signal is patchy above the valley. Tell someone your route and your expected time back, and carry a beacon for a full ridge day.
Getting there and when to go
The Maumturks lie along the eastern side of the Inagh Valley in Connemara, and a car is the practical way to reach the Western Way crossing. Follow current signage rather than trusting an old guide, and check the Sport Ireland notices above for any trail works. The ground is generally best from May to October, when the days are long and the paths reasonably dry; winter turns the higher ground into a proper mountaineering environment. Whatever the season, start early and leave yourself time to be off the tops before the afternoon cloud rolls in off the Atlantic.