page_title: Skellig Michael
section_title: Access and tourism
hierarchical_section_title: Skellig Michael / Access and tourism
caption_attribution_description: English: Skellig Michael
context_page_description: Skellig Michael is a twin-pinnacled crag 11.6 kilometres west of the Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland. The island is named after the archangel Michael, while "Skellig" is derived from the Irish language word sceilig, meaning a splinter of stone. Its twin island, Little Skellig, is smaller and inaccessible. The two islands rose c. 374–360 million years ago during a period of mountain formation, along with the MacGillycuddy's Reeks mountain range. Later, they were separated from the mainland by rising water levels.
  Skellig Michael consists of approximately 22 hectares of rock, with its highest point, known as the Spit, 218 m above sea level. The island is defined by its twin peaks and intervening valley, which make its landscape steep and inhospitable. It is best known for its Gaelic monastery, founded between the 6th and 8th centuries, and its variety of inhabiting species, which include gannets, puffins, a colony of razorbills and a population of approximately fifty grey seals. The island is of especial interest to archaeologists, as the monastic settlement is in unusually good condition.
context_section_description: Skellig Michael contains three landing points variously used by monks depending on the weather conditions. Today the island receives an average of 11,000 visitors per year. To protect the site, the Office of Public Works limits the number of visitors to 180 per day. The local climate and exposed terrain make crossing from the mainland to Skellig Michael difficult. Once landed, the island's terrain is steep, unprotected and dangerous. The rock is ascended via 600 medieval stone steps leading towards the main island peak.
  This remoteness and inaccessibility has long discouraged visitors, so the island is exceptionally well preserved. Tourism began in the late 19th century, when a rowing boat could be hired for 25 shillings. It did not become a popular tourist destination until the early 1970s when small chartered passenger boats became more frequent; five were available in 1973 at a price of £3 per person. By 1990, the level of demand had grown to the extent that the Office of Public Works began to organise ten boats departing from four individual harbours.
  Each year at least four boat licences are granted to tour operators who run trips to Skellig Michael during the summer season (May to October, inclusive), weather permitting. Even when conditions on the mainland are calm, the sea around the island can be turbulent. The area is a landing point for sea swells travelling in from distant depressions in the Atlantic. The island is lashed by water from all sides, with wave crests breaking at up to 10 metres over the pier and 45 metres along the lighthouse. When such large wave troughs recede, they can often expose ragged seaweed stumps, sponges and anemones on the rock faces, further hampering approach and landing.
  A typical visit lasts about six hours. The Office of Public Works emphasises that the journey presents safety challenges. For safety reasons, mainly because the steps are steep, rocky, old and unprotected, climbs are not permitted during wet or windy weather. Dive sites immediately around the rock, mostly around Blue Cove, are permitted in summer.
caption: View of approach
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