Northern Ireland is jam-packed with attractions - from the majestic Mourne Mountains and Sperrins, an area of outstanding natural beauty, to Lough Neagh, the largest freshwater lake in Ireland and the UK, and Lough Erne, the Bann, Foyle, Blackwater and Lagan rivers, wild Rathlin Island off Antrim's coast, and, of course, its bustling old cities Belfast and Londonderry.
The Causeway Coastal Route is justifiably famous. It covers 129km (80 miles) of coastline across two counties, beginning in Belfast and ending in Londonderry. Highlights include the Giant’s Causeway, Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge, Dunluce Castle, Glenariff Forest Park and White Rocks Beach.
The region is composed of six of the nine counties of the Irish province of Ulster. Fermanagh, Antrim, Tyrone, Londonderry, Armagh and Down are the six, partitioned in 1920, and subject to decades of conflict that ended (or started to end) with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998.
Outside these six, the other three counties of the historic province of Ulster in the Republic of Ireland are Monaghan, Cavan, and Donegal.
Quite possibly, Northern Ireland's greatest attraction is its people, who, like their Southern Irish neighbours, are friendly and hospitable, with a passion for the "craic".
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