Mayo County is characterized by harsh mountain landscapes and a varied coastline. It is a region rich in places associated with the religious identity of the Irish. You can find here the largest Marian shrine on the island.
As in all of Western Ireland, also in Mayo the coast is strongly fragmented and full of coves, capes and islands and islets. The largest of these is Achill, the only Irish island connected to it by a bridge. There are nice sandy beaches, soaring cliffs and numerous peat bogs. Inside the island you can see the ruins of villages abandoned by the inhabitants during the Great Famine in the mid-nineteenth century
In the north of the county is one of the world's largest Stone Age farming areas, Ceide Fields. On an area of almost 10 square kilometers, walls were separated from the peat layer, delimiting plots, remains of buildings, as well as huge, preserved tree trunks.
The region's most important city is Westport, with sandy beaches nearby. On its outskirts is the Wesport House, which is now a museum. There is a family theme park and camping in its gardens and park.
Mayo is an important point on the religious map of Ireland. In its southern part stands the Croagh Patrick mountain, dedicated to the patron of the Island. It was here that he was to teach during his stay on the Green Island. Today at the top stands the chapel that is the destination of pilgrimages. Inland, there is the Marian shrine in Knock, whose origins are related to the Marian apparitions in 1879. In the region you can also see the ruins of the medieval monastery in Cong founded in the 12th century for the Augustinian order.
