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The Mystical Hill of Tara: A Self-Guided Audio Tour
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The Hill of Tara was the seat of the High Kings of Ireland, and even today it carries a weight that’s hard to put into words. This self-guided GPS audio tour lets you explore it at your own pace, unravelling the layers of history from the first Neolithic farmers in the Boyne Valley all the way through to the arrival of Christianity.
You’ll discover one of the oldest Stone Age passage tombs in Ireland, learn about the portals to the fairy otherworld woven into local tradition, and get a vivid sense of what it meant to be a king in ancient Ireland - including some of the more unsavoury rituals associated with kingship at Tara. The tour also dips into Celtic spirituality and the world of druids, saints, and Iron Age kings.
The route passes by the Hill of Heroes, the ancient Hill of Tara itself, and Saint Patrick’s Church. And if you’d like to take part in an old Irish tradition, bring a small piece of degradable cloth with you - your guide will explain everything when you get there.
The tour takes you past the Hill of Heroes, across the ancient Hill of Tara, and by Saint Patrick’s Church.
Meeting point: Before you arrive, install the VoiceMap mobile app and enter the code from your confirmation ticket. This is a self-guided tour - start, pause, or restart it whenever you like and complete it at your own pace. Full starting point instructions are available after downloading the app.
Download the app and enter your code before you leave Dublin. Tara is in rural County Meath - mobile data can be patchy on the hill itself. The tour offers offline access to audio, maps and geodata, but only after you’ve loaded it while connected. Five minutes at your accommodation the evening before saves frustration on the day.
Arrive early or late in the afternoon. The Hill of Tara is a free-access national monument with an open car park, and it gets busy with school groups and coach visitors mid-morning. Early arrival - before ten - gives you the hill largely to yourself, which changes the experience considerably. Late afternoon has the best light and tends to be quieter than the midday window.
Wear proper footwear. The hill itself is grassed over earthworks rather than a paved path. After any rain, the slopes are wet and the ground is soft underfoot. Trainers will do on a dry day; waterproof boots are better if the weather has been unsettled.
The degradable cloth tradition mentioned in the tour. The guide will explain it in context, but it’s tied to the ancient custom of leaving a small offering at a holy site or sacred tree. If you want to take part, a small strip of natural fabric works. Synthetic materials should not be left - biodegradable only.
Navan is the most practical base for the Tara visit. The county town sits about 12 kilometres from the hill on the M3, and it has the only reliable spread of hotels and restaurants in this part of Meath. If you’re driving out from Dublin and want somewhere to eat and stay before heading to Tara the next morning, Navan is the answer - the Hill of Tara, Bective Abbey, and Slane are all within thirty minutes from there.
Slane is fifteen minutes north-east and worth the detour on the same day. The Hill of Slane is where St Patrick is said to have lit his Paschal fire in 433 AD in direct defiance of the High King’s decree - the High King whose seat was here on Tara. The legend makes the most sense if you visit both hills. Slane village has four Georgian houses at a single crossroads and the Slane Whiskey Distillery in the old castle stables, with tours and tastings and a whiskey lounge that celebrates forty years of open-air rock concerts on the castle grounds.