The N70 coastal road that forms the Ring of Kerry was engineered in the 1820s as famine-relief work, its 179 kilometres threading fishing villages, Iron Age forts, and mountain passes that had, until then, isolated the Iveragh Peninsula from the rest of County Kerry. Today the route carries over 700,000 visitors annually, making it Ireland's most-travelled scenic drive and a cornerstone of Wild Atlantic Way tourism. The clockwise convention — tour buses depart Killarney by 09:00 and circle anti-clockwise to avoid oncoming coaches on narrow cliff sections — was formalised by local operators in 1973 and remains the standard for commercial departures. From Cork, the journey begins with a 90-kilometre transfer northwest through Macroom and the Derrynasaggart Mountains, entering Killarney by mid-morning. The circuit proper starts at the town's southern edge, climbing through Kenmare's tree-lined approach before opening onto the coastal stretch at Parknasilla. Here the road hugs Kenmare Bay, with views across to the Beara Peninsula and the Caha Mountains. Moll's Gap, at 260 metres elevation, offers the first panorama of Macgillycuddy's Reeks, Ireland's highest mountain range, while Ladies View — named for Queen Victoria's ladies-in-waiting who paused here in 1861 — frames the Upper Lake of Killarney in a natural amphitheatre of oakwood and heather. Archaeological density distinguishes the ring from purely scenic routes. Staigue Fort, a dry-stone cashel dating to 300 CE, sits inland near Castlecove, its 5.5-metre walls intact without mortar. Ogham stones mark crossroads near Waterville, their vertical Linear B-style inscriptions recording 5th-century Gaelic clan boundaries. Derrynane House, Daniel O'Connell's estate, preserves the library and personal effects of the 19th-century parliamentarian who secured Catholic Emancipation in 1829. The return leg via Killorglin and the N72 completes the loop by evening, covering 340 kilometres total including the Cork transfers. The route's popularity stems not from a single landmark but from cumulative variety: sheltered bays give way to exposed headlands, Georgian estates to vernacular stone cottages, all within a single day's clockwise progression.