The Caha Mountains have been listed as a Special Area of Conservation. The underlying rock is Old Red Sandstone and the terrain generally consists of rocky crags and outcrops interspersed with grassy slopes. The southern part of the range has a broad ridge with a boggy plateau dotted with small lakes, and there are substantial cliffs in the northwestern part. Other habitat types include blanket bog, wet and dry heathland, scree slopes and species-rich grassland.[4]
The Caha Mountains are notable for the presence of Minuartia recurva, a montane sandwort otherwise not found in Ireland.[5] During a botanical survey of these mountains in 2000, over two hundred plants of the Alpine sandwort were found in each of its two known locations. Other rare plants were recorded; these included the heath pearlwort (Sagina subulata), the hybrid rush Juncus conglomeratus x J. effusus, and the marsh clubmoss Lycopodiella inundata, found in abundance on one rock ledge on Knockowen.[6] The Killarney fern (Vandenboschia speciosa) can also be found here.[4]
The Caha Mountains are home to the Kerry slug, otters, badgers, hares, lizards, brown trout and frogs. The peregrine falcon breeds here and the ring ouzel is one of the birds that visits the area during migration.[4]
