The lake is included within a large Special Area of Conservation: Killarney National Park, Macgillycuddy's Reeks and Caragh River Catchment SAC.[4] Most of Caragh Lake falls under this designation as an SAC.[5] The rare Kerry slug was first discovered near this lake in 1842.[6][7] The lake is glacial in origin.
Luxury properties
The north-eastern corner of the lake, particularly surrounding the townland of Glannagilliagh,[8] is home to a number of holiday properties,[9] built from the 1970s onwards,[5] which have views of the lake and MacGillycuddy's Reeks mountains.[9][10] In a 2015 article in The Irish Examiner, the view across the lake from Glannagilliagh was described as being possibly "the most beautiful westerly view in Kerry".[6]
Since the discovery of the rare Kerry slug and designation of the area as a Special Area of Conservation, planning permission for the construction of new homes has become difficult.[6][5] Many of the luxury properties pre-date this ruling however, and extend to the lakeshore itself, including private slipways for the launching of boats.[6][9][5][10] In 2016, real estate agentsSavills noted that there was a premium on lakeside houses in the area, and that getting planning permission for a new build at the same scale as some of those existing would "be out of the question".[9]
Although frequently only purchased with the intention of being used as holiday homes, properties in the area often sell for millions of euro.[9][5][6][10][11]
