Skellig Michael, County Kerry, Ireland

       

No one goes to Skellig Michael by accident. I certainly didn't. My first encounter with this ancient monastic settlement about eight miles off the coast of County Kerry was a virtual one—I saw a picture of its craggy, windswept stone steps corkscrewing up from the white-capped Atlantic, and I immediately wanted to know more. Who carved them? Why? And where did the steps lead…?
As it turns out, getting the answers about Skellig Michael in person requires both persistence and good luck. You'll need the services of a fishing trawler (there are plenty for hire from mid-April through mid-September in nearby Portmagee) and the good fortune of setting off on a clear day. Once on the island of Skellig Michael, climbing those stone steps brings you to the main attraction: a cluster of beehive-shaped stone huts dating back to the sixth century. That's right—early Christian monks actually lived on this windswept outpost in the middle of nowhere.
These days, only a few hundred hardy visitors are allowed at this UNESCO World Heritage site on any given day. That's a great thing. If you go, you'll feel like you have it all to yourself.