Starting at Glengarriff, the Beara Way enters the Glengarriff Woods Nature Reserve, then climbs into the
Caha Mountains to an altitude of as it traverses the pass north of
Sugarloaf mountain before descending to reach the village of
Adrigole. A spur route makes a circuit of
Bere Island, which is connected to Castletownbere by a ferry service. The route from Castletownbere to
Allihies is via an old cattle droving path. Copper mining was the main activity in Allihies for many years and the remains of abandoned mineworking dot the landscape. Another circular spur route starts from Allihies and brings the trail to the very tip of the Beara Peninsula where a
cable car connects the trail with
Dursey Island. From Allihies, the trail follows a miners' track and climbs the copper-rich crags above the village, crossing a mountain pass to reach
Eyeries. A ridge along the coast connects Eyeries with
Ardgroom. The trail then crosses into
County Kerry to reach
Tuosist, via
Lauragh. From Tuosist, the Beara Way crosses the northern slopes of Knockagarrane and then passes between
Clonee Lough and Lough Inchiquin before crossing a mountain pass. The route diverges here, continuing north to
Kenmare or south to Bonane. The final stage returns to Glengarriff via
Bonane Heritage Park and Esk mountain. A spur route connects Glengarriff with Kealkill,
Gougane Barra and
Ballingeary. ==Intersecting and connecting paths==