Glenveagh National Park is situated on the eastern side of the Derryveagh Mountains in the north-west of County Donegal. The Park contains 14,000 hectares of mountain, raised bogland, lakes and woodlands and is dissected by the valley which gives the park its name, Glenveigh (*Gleann Bheatha*) meaning Glen of the Birches.
The Park has the largest herd of Red Deer in Ireland if not in Europe. The deer spend the summer on the Derryveagh mountains, coming down hill in winter. The most frequently sighted birds in the Park are the meadow pipit, stonechats, grouse, ravens, siskins, tree-creepers, redstarts, wood warblers and occasionally peregrines and merlins. The Golden Eagle was reintroduced to the park in 2000. The Golden Eagle became extinct 100 years ago, largely due to over hunting by both farmers and game keepers. Wildlife in the Park includes badgers, foxes, the native Irish Hare and stoats.
The Park is particularly spectacular when the prolific *Rhododendron Ponticum are in bloom in early Summer.

Perhaps the outstanding feature of Glenveagh is its wilderness character with the sense of remoteness and solitude that it conveys to the visitor. The Park was opened formally in 1986 and, from the purpose-built Visitor Centre, visitors travel by Park transport along the shores of Lough Veagh to Glenveagh Castle (built in 1870 by George Adair) and its outstanding gardens, which are both open to the public.