Number 242 of 282 by height · Northwest Highlands
Am Basteir
Am Bàisteir
3,064 ft (934 m)
Facts
- Grid reference
- NG 465 253
- Latitude, longitude
- 57.24797, -6.20298
- Area
- Northwest Highlands
The walk up
- Distance, one way
- 3.9 mi (6.3 km)
- Climb
- 2,562 ft (781 m)
- Estimated time up
- 2 h 35 min
- Start
- Car park near Sligachan
Route picked by computer, not yet checked on the hill
Summit conditions
From Sunday 1 November, 20:25. Not live.
- Weather
- Clear sky
- Temperature
- 35°F (2°C)
- Wind chill
- 30°F (−1°C)
- Wind
- 6 mph (10 km/h) from the northwest
- Cloud cover
- 10%
- Rain or snow, next hour
- None
- Freezing level, rough estimate
- 3,973 ft (1,211 m)
- Sunrise, sunset
- 07:35, 16:41
The way up
From Car park near Sligachan, follow the track south for 1300 ft, almost level. Then follow the path south-west for 1.9 mi, climbing gently from 160 ft to 960 ft. It then turns south-east for the last 1.7 mi to the summit, climbing steeply from 960 ft to 2,700 ft. On the way you cross the Allt Mòr an Fhinn Choire and the Allt an Fhionn-choire. The steepest part is between 2,050 ft and 2,700 ft, about 3.4 mi from the start. The mapped path ends about 720 ft short of the summit, so the last part to the top at 3,064 ft is over pathless ground.
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 Sligachan. Parking charge not known. This is where the walking route starts.
Driving directions to the Am Basteir car park57.28884,-6.18430
By train
Nearest station: Kyle of Lochalsh, 18 mi (28 km) from the car park. Too far to walk in from.
By bus
Nearest bus stop on the map: Hotel, 0.3 mi (0.5 km) from the car park. Check the times first: many Highland buses run only a few times a day.
Near the start
- Place to eat: Sligachan Hotel 0.4 mi (0.6 km)
- Campsite: Sligachan Campsite 0.4 mi (0.7 km)
- Hostel: Sligachan Bunkhouse 0.5 mi (0.8 km)
From OpenStreetMap. Places close or change hours, especially in winter, so check before you rely on one.
Public transport directionsBus and train times on Traveline Scotland
About Am Basteir
- In Gaelic
- Am Bàisteir
- Means
- The baptiser
Am Basteir is a narrow blade of rock in the northern Cuillin on the Isle of Skye, sitting on the main ridge between Sgurr nan Gillean and Bruach na Frithe, both under half a mile away. Its western end drops away vertically, and at the foot of that side stands the Bhasteir Tooth, a large pinnacle shaped much like the mountain itself and listed as one of its Tops.
The summit is a scrambler's top, gained along the east ridge from the bealach with Sgurr nan Gillean. It rises only 161 ft (49 m) above the col linking it to Bruach na Frithe, its nearest higher neighbour, and a cairn marks the top.
Tops on Am Basteir
One lower summit in the Munro tables, not counted as separate Munros. Keen baggers tick these too.
| Top | Height | From the summit |
|---|---|---|
| Bhasteir Tooth [Basteir Tooth]NG 465 252 | 3,009 ft (917 m) | 0.0 mi (0.1 km) |
Through the year
Hours of daylight on Am Basteir 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Bruach na Frithe | 3,146 ft (959 m) | 0.3 mi (0.5 km) |
| Sgurr nan Gillean | 3,170 ft (966 m) | 0.4 mi (0.6 km) |
| Sgurr a' Mhadaidh | 3,012 ft (918 m) | 1.6 mi (2.6 km) |
Part of a bigger day: 3 Munros in one go, Bruach na Frithe, Sgurr nan Gillean.
Common questions about Am Basteir
- How high is Am Basteir?
- Am Basteir is 3,064 ft (934 m), number 242 of the 282 Munros by height, in the Northwest Highlands.
- How long does it take to climb Am Basteir?
- About 2 h 35 min up and 1 h 15 min back down by our route from Car park near Sligachan, before stops: 3.9 mi (6.3 km) each way with 2,562 ft (781 m) of climbing. That is about average for a Munro. Most people take longer than these estimates.
- Where do you park for Am Basteir?
- Our route starts at Car park near Sligachan.
- Can you climb Am Basteir without a car?
- The nearest railway station is Kyle of Lochalsh, 18 mi (28 km) from the start, and the nearest bus stop on the map is Hotel, 0.3 mi (0.5 km) from the start. Highland trains and buses are few, so check times on Traveline Scotland before you go.
- Is Am Basteir a hard Munro?
- By time and climbing, it is about average for a Munro, with 2,562 ft (781 m) of ascent over 3.9 mi (6.3 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.
- Can you climb other Munros with Am Basteir?
- Yes. Am Basteir can be linked with Bruach na Frithe, Sgurr nan Gillean along the ridge, for 3 Munros in one long day. See Big days for the full plan.
- What does Am Basteir mean?
- In Gaelic it is Am Bàisteir. It is usually translated as "the baptiser".
- When is the best time to climb Am Basteir?
- 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.
- The mapped path stops 715 ft short of the summit; the last part is over open or rocky ground and is not drawn.
- Elevation data tops out at 2,723 ft against a surveyed 3,064 ft, so the climb figures are low.
- Path geometry: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Overpass API extract fetched 2026-10-24T20:07:29.136Z. Start: the public car park nearest the usual start named on Wikipedia (Sligachan, found by "Sligachan" on OpenStreetMap) with the shortest mapped-path route to the summit.
- 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 35 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. Am Basteir is hill 1254 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.