Number 56 of 282 by height · Cairngorms and Monadhliath
Beinn a' Chlachair
3,566 ft (1,087 m)
Facts
- Grid reference
- NN 471 781
- Latitude, longitude
- 56.86954, -4.50970
- Area
- Cairngorms and Monadhliath
The walk up
- Distance, one way
- 7.1 mi (11 km)
- Climb
- 2,828 ft (862 m)
- Estimated time up
- 3 h 45 min
- Start
- Car park
Route picked by computer, not yet checked on the hill
Summit conditions
From Sunday 1 November, 17:07. Not live.
- Weather
- Clear sky
- Temperature
- 36°F (2°C)
- Wind chill
- 31°F (0°C)
- Wind
- 6 mph (9 km/h) from the northwest
- Cloud cover
- 11%
- Rain or snow, next hour
- None
- Freezing level, rough estimate
- 4,728 ft (1,441 m)
- Sunrise, sunset
- 07:27, 16:36
The way up
From Car park, follow the path south for 1250 ft, almost level. On the way you cross the River Spean. Then follow the track south-east for 2.2 mi, almost level. It then turns north-east for 0.5 mi, almost level. It then turns south-east for 2.1 mi, climbing steadily from 1,150 ft to 2,400 ft. On the way you pass Lochan na h-Earba on your left. Then follow the path south for 0.5 mi, climbing steeply from 2,400 ft to 3,000 ft. It then turns south-west for the last 1.5 mi to the summit, climbing gently from 3,000 ft to 3,550 ft. The steepest part is between 2,300 ft and 2,950 ft, about 5.0 mi from the start. The summit is at 3,566 ft (1,087 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. Parking charge not known. This is where the walking route starts.
Driving directions to the Beinn a' Chlachair car park56.91219,-4.57521
By train
Nearest station: Tulloch, 5.1 mi (8.3 km) from the car park.
By bus
Nearest bus stop on the map: Moy Lodge - Eastbound, 0.5 mi (0.8 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 Beinn a' Chlachair
Beinn a' Chlachair lies south of Loch Laggan near the remote hamlet of Kinloch Laggan. Besides its broad summit plateau and three steep sides, it has a corrie on its northern face.
It rises 1,772 ft (540 m) above the col that links it to higher ground, a big drop that makes it a Marilyn, and Geal-Charn, 2.2 miles away, is the nearest higher Munro. Creag Pitridh and Carn Dearg both lie 2.3 miles off. At 3,566 ft (1,087 m) it ranks 56th of the 282 Munros, and a cairn marks the summit.
Through the year
Hours of daylight on Beinn a' Chlachair 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Geal-Charn | 3,714 ft (1,132 m) | 2.2 mi (3.5 km) |
| Creag Pitridh | 3,031 ft (924 m) | 2.3 mi (3.7 km) |
| Carn Dearg | 3,392 ft (1,034 m) | 2.3 mi (3.7 km) |
Common questions about Beinn a' Chlachair
- How high is Beinn a' Chlachair?
- Beinn a' Chlachair is 3,566 ft (1,087 m), number 56 of the 282 Munros by height, in the Cairngorms and Monadhliath.
- How long does it take to climb Beinn a' Chlachair?
- About 3 h 45 min up and 2 h 20 min back down by our route from Car park, before stops: 7.1 mi (11 km) each way with 2,828 ft (862 m) of climbing. That is one of the longer Munro days. Most people take longer than these estimates.
- Where do you park for Beinn a' Chlachair?
- Our route starts at Car park.
- Can you climb Beinn a' Chlachair without a car?
- The nearest railway station is Tulloch, 5.1 mi (8.3 km) from the start, and the nearest bus stop on the map is Moy Lodge - Eastbound, 0.5 mi (0.8 km) from the start. Highland trains and buses are few, so check times on Traveline Scotland before you go.
- Is Beinn a' Chlachair a hard Munro?
- By time and climbing, it is one of the longer Munro days, with 2,828 ft (862 m) of ascent over 7.1 mi (11 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.
- When is the best time to climb Beinn a' Chlachair?
- 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 Cairngorms and Monadhliath before you go.
Questions
Where can I get a proper mountain forecast?
Read the Mountain Weather Information Service forecast for the Cairngorms and Monadhliath, 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 car park has no name in OpenStreetMap and no named place nearby.
- Path geometry: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Overpass API extract fetched 2026-10-24T19:57:04.412Z. 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 3 h 45 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. Beinn a' Chlachair is hill 349 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.