DONEGAL has been named the "coolest place to visit" in 2017 by National Geographic magazine.
The county topped the “Cool List: 17 for 2017”, which is compiled based on the opinions of the magazine’s contributors and features what they call “the culture capitals, hipster hot spot, wild escapes and places generally keeping it cool in 2017”.
Santiago in Chile and Helsinki in Finland fill second and third places in the annual list, which hit the shelves on Thursday. Greenland, Peru, India and South Africa also make the top 10.
In last year’s addition, the poll was topped by Iran, with the island of Ireland as a whole coming in fourth.
This year, however, Donegal’s scenery caught the eye of the decision-makers.
"This is a dreamlike landscape, wild and remote," the magazine reads.
"It’s the kind of place you may spot a golden eagle soaring above the Glenveagh National Park, or hear Irish spoken as a native tongue in the Ghaeltacht around Gweedore and Glencolmcill."
The fact that Donegal featured as a location in the most recent edition of the Star Wars movie franchise may also have added to the county’s ‘cool’ factor.
Several scenes in the film were shot in Donegal in May, including one featuring Malin Head on the Inishowen Peninsula.
Here is The Cool List top ten in full
1. Donegal
2. Santiago, Chile
3. Helsinki, Finland
4. Greenland
5. Peru
6. Aarhus, Denmark
7. Canada
8. Portland, Oregon
9. India
10. South Africa
