Number 142 of 282 by height · Northwest Highlands
A' Chailleach
3,276 ft (999 m)
Facts
- Grid reference
- NH 136 714
- Latitude, longitude
- 57.69380, -5.12872
- Area
- Northwest Highlands
The walk up
- Distance, one way
- 4.3 mi (6.9 km)
- Climb
- 2,497 ft (761 m)
- Estimated time up
- 2 h 40 min
- Start
- Car park near Coire Buidhe
Route picked by computer, not yet checked on the hill
Summit conditions
From Sunday 1 November, 17:07. Not live.
- Weather
- Partly cloudy
- Temperature
- 34°F (1°C)
- Wind chill
- 30°F (−1°C)
- Wind
- 5 mph (8 km/h) from the northwest
- Cloud cover
- 84%
- Rain or snow, next hour
- None
- Freezing level, rough estimate
- 3,934 ft (1,199 m)
- Sunrise, sunset
- 07:32, 16:35
The way up
From Car park near Coire Buidhe, follow the track south-west for 0.7 mi, almost level. Then follow the path south for 2.6 mi, climbing steadily from 850 ft to 2,500 ft. On the way you pass Loch a' Bhraoin on your right. It then turns west for the last 0.9 mi to the summit, climbing steeply from 2,500 ft to 3,300 ft. The steepest part is between 940 ft and 1,950 ft, about 1.2 mi from the start. The summit is at 3,276 ft (999 m).
Written from the map, not from walking it. Paths on the ground can differ, so carry a map and compass.See it in 3D.
Getting there
By car
Car park near Coire Buidhe. Free to park. This is where the walking route starts.
Driving directions to the A' Chailleach car park57.73727,-5.09008
By train
Nearest station: Achnasheen, 11 mi (18 km) from the car park. Too far to walk in from.
By bus
Nearest bus stop on the map: Corrieshalloch Gorge, 2.8 mi (4.6 km) from the car park. Check the times first: many Highland buses run only a few times a day.
Public transport directionsBus and train times on Traveline Scotland
About A' Chailleach
- Means
- The old woman
A' Chailleach is the westernmost of the Fannichs in Wester Ross, with Kinlochewe the nearest village to the south-west. It rises 600 ft (183 m) above the col that links it to Sgurr Breac, its nearest higher neighbour 1.4 miles away, which makes it a Marilyn as well as a Munro.
Toman Coinnich is its subsidiary Top, and Sgurr nan Clach Geala and Sgurr nan Each are the next Munros along the range, both about 3 miles off. The summit cairn sits on a rock outcrop.
Tops on A' Chailleach
One lower summit in the Munro tables, not counted as separate Munros. Keen baggers tick these too.
| Top | Height | From the summit |
|---|---|---|
| Toman Coinnich [Toman Coinich]NH 148 713 | 3,073 ft (937 m) | 0.8 mi (1.2 km) |
Through the year
Hours of daylight on A' Chailleach in the middle of each month. The shorter the day, the earlier you need to start.
Stag stalking season, 1 July to 20 October. On many estates, walkers are asked to keep to set routes on stalking days: check the Scottish Outdoor Access Code site's Heading for the Scottish Hills service before you go.
Nearest Munros
| Munro | Height | Straight-line distance |
|---|---|---|
| Sgurr Breac | 3,280 ft (1,000 m) | 1.4 mi (2.2 km) |
| Sgurr nan Clach Geala | 3,586 ft (1,093 m) | 3.0 mi (4.8 km) |
| Sgurr nan Each | 3,028 ft (923 m) | 3.2 mi (5.1 km) |
Common questions about A' Chailleach
- How high is A' Chailleach?
- A' Chailleach is 3,276 ft (999 m), number 142 of the 282 Munros by height, in the Northwest Highlands.
- How long does it take to climb A' Chailleach?
- About 2 h 40 min up and 1 h 30 min back down by our route from Car park near Coire Buidhe, before stops: 4.3 mi (6.9 km) each way with 2,497 ft (761 m) of climbing. That is about average for a Munro. Most people take longer than these estimates.
- Where do you park for A' Chailleach?
- Our route starts at Car park near Coire Buidhe. It is free to park.
- Can you climb A' Chailleach without a car?
- The nearest railway station is Achnasheen, 11 mi (18 km) from the start, and the nearest bus stop on the map is Corrieshalloch Gorge, 2.8 mi (4.6 km) from the start. Highland trains and buses are few, so check times on Traveline Scotland before you go.
- Is A' Chailleach a hard Munro?
- By time and climbing, it is about average for a Munro, with 2,497 ft (761 m) of ascent over 4.3 mi (6.9 km). Like every Munro it reaches over 3,000 ft, where the weather can be far worse than at the car park, so take a map and compass and check the mountain forecast.
- What does A' Chailleach mean?
- It is usually translated as "the old woman".
- When is the best time to climb A' Chailleach?
- Daylight runs from about 18 hours in mid June to 7 hours in mid December, so summer gives the most time. From 1 July to 20 October it is the stag stalking season, when some estates ask walkers to keep to set routes. In winter, snow and ice turn most Munros into mountaineering terrain.
A guide only. Mountain conditions change fast: carry a map and compass and know how to use them, and read the mountain forecast for the Northwest Highlands before you go.
Questions
Where can I get a proper mountain forecast?
Read the Mountain Weather Information Service forecast for the Northwest Highlands, written by forecasters for walkers and climbers. In winter, also read the Scottish Avalanche Information Service report for the area.
Where does the summit weather come from?
From MET Norway's forecast model, fetched for every Munro once an hour at the summit's own height. It is computer output for one point, not a forecast written for mountains, so treat it as a guide. The past hours are what the forecast said at the time. Wind chill, the freezing level and sunrise and sunset are worked out by this site from those figures; the freezing level assumes temperature drops steadily with height, so it can be well out when cold air sits in the glens.
How was this route drawn?
It follows footpaths and tracks mapped on OpenStreetMap, from a public car park to the summit, with heights from Copernicus elevation data. A computer picked the start as the car park with the quickest mapped way up, counting the climbing as well as the distance. Nobody has checked it on the hill yet, so it may not be the usual way up, and the path may be faint or missing on the ground. A line on a map is not a description of the ground.
- Path geometry: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Overpass API extract fetched 2026-10-24T20:04:01.699Z. Start chosen automatically: the public car park on a public road with the shortest mapped-path route to the summit (busy roads and T4 paths weighted against).
- Elevation: Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (© DLR e.V. 2010-2014 and © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH 2014-2018, provided under COPERNICUS by the European Union and ESA), sampled every 50 m, 3-sample median, 5 m hysteresis on ascent.
- Summit position: Database of British and Irish Hills v18 (CC BY 4.0).
Built 2026-10-25.
How is the time up worked out?
With Naismith's rule, the standard hill-walking estimate: an hour for every 3.1 miles (5 km), plus an hour for every 1,969 ft (600 m) of climbing, with no stops. For this route that gives about 2 h 40 min, one way. It ignores rough ground, weather, stops and the walk back down, so most people take longer.
Where do the car parks and bus stops come from?
From OpenStreetMap. Distances are straight lines, not the way you would walk or drive. A bus stop on the map says nothing about how often a bus calls: many Highland buses run a few times a day, some only on school days or by booking, so check Traveline Scotland first. The map cannot tell whether a car park is on a public road, so a remote one may only be reachable on foot or by train.
Where do the Gaelic names and stories come from?
From the hill's article on English Wikipedia and its Wikidata entry, put into a few words of our own. Meanings and pronunciations are only given where the article states them; many Gaelic hill names are old and their meaning is uncertain. Read the full article.
Where do the height and grid reference come from?
From the Database of British and Irish Hills, the surveyed list most baggers use. A' Chailleach is hill 1043 there.
Sources: Database of British and Irish Hills (CC BY 4.0), OpenStreetMap (ODbL), MET Norway (CC BY 4.0), Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Wikidata, Copernicus elevation data, Sentinel-2 cloudless imagery by EOX. All credits and licences.