Skellig Michael is a 218-metre rock pyramid rising from the Atlantic, 12km off the Kerr…

Skellig Michael is a 218-metre rock pyramid rising from the Atlantic, 12km off the Kerry coast. Between the 6th and 8th centuries, monks built a monastery near its summit. Six beehive huts, two oratories, a church and a cemetery, all reached by 670 hand-cut stone steps. They lived on fish and seabirds in one of the most extreme expressions of early Christian monasticism on earth. Vikings raided in 823 and carried off the abbot. The monks held on until the 12th century before retreating to the mainland. Because of its isolation the site survived almost perfectly intact, UNESCO made it a World Heritage Site in 1996. It later doubled as Luke Skywalker’s hideout in Star Wars, unfortunately that movie sucked.