Newgrange

A Stone Age masterpiece

Newgrange was built by farming communities around 3200 BC, making it older than both Stonehenge and the Great Pyramid of Giza. It is a huge circular mound, about 85 m across, ringed by kerbstones carved with spirals and other designs. Inside, a 19 m stone passage leads to a cross-shaped chamber with a corbelled roof that has kept out the rain for 5,000 years.

Above the entrance is a "roof box". At dawn around the winter solstice, sunlight shines through it, travels up the passage, and lights the chamber floor for about 17 minutes. Newgrange is part of Brú na Bóinne, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that also includes the great mounds of Knowth and Dowth.

Good to know

• Access is by guided tour only, starting at the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre, which runs a shuttle bus to the monuments.
• Arrive early or book ahead in summer, when tours sell out.
• The solstice: places inside the chamber for the December sunrise are given out by an annual free lottery.

Local tip

Combine Newgrange with the Hill of Tara, ancient seat of the High Kings, and the medieval Hill of Slane on the same day. All three are within half an hour of each other.

Nearby

Dublin · Glendalough · Giant's Causeway · All destinations