Number 27 of 282 by height · West Highlands
Ben Lui
Beinn Laoigh
Also written Beinn Laoigh
3,712 ft (1,131 m)
Facts
- Grid reference
- NN 266 262
- Latitude, longitude
- 56.39702, -4.81053
- Area
- West Highlands
The walk up
- Distance, one way
- 2.5 mi (4.1 km)
- Climb
- 3,041 ft (927 m)
- Estimated time up
- 2 h 20 min
- Start
- Car park near Achnafalnich
Route picked by computer, not yet checked on the hill
Summit conditions
From Sunday 1 November, 20:25. Not live.
- Weather
- Clear sky
- Temperature
- 30°F (−1°C)
- Wind
- 3 mph (5 km/h) from the north
- Cloud cover
- 2%
- Rain or snow, next hour
- None
- Freezing level, rough estimate
- 3,258 ft (993 m), below the summit
- Sunrise, sunset
- 07:26, 16:38
The way up
From Car park near Achnafalnich, follow the path south-east for 1.6 mi, climbing steeply from 620 ft to 2,200 ft. On the way you cross the River Lochy and the Eas Daimb. It then turns east for the last 0.8 mi to the summit, climbing very steeply from 2,200 ft to 3,700 ft. The steepest part is between 2,300 ft and 3,350 ft, about 1.7 mi from the start. The summit is at 3,712 ft (1,131 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 Achnafalnich. Parking charge not known. This is where the walking route starts.
Driving directions to the Ben Lui car park56.40986,-4.85540
By train
Nearest station: Dalmally, 4.9 mi (7.9 km) from the car park.
By bus
Nearest bus stop on the map: Glenview Road End, 4.2 mi (6.7 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 Ben Lui
- In Gaelic
- Beinn Laoigh
Ben Lui is the highest and best known of four Munros south of Glen Lochy, about 6 miles north of the top of Loch Lomond, the others being Beinn a' Chleibh, Ben Oss and Beinn Dubhchraig. Five well-defined ridges radiate from its summit, with four corries between them, Coire Gaothaich on the north-east being the most celebrated.
It stands on Scotland's main watershed as a nodal peak, so its water runs east to the Tay and the North Sea, south to Loch Lomond and the Firth of Clyde, and west to the Lochy and the Atlantic. The range was once a National Nature Reserve, and its moist, low-acid cliffs carry an unusually lush growth of saxifrages, mosses and lichens. Glen Cononish, below the eastern side, is known for its goldmine.
It rises 2,874 ft (876 m) above the col that links it to higher ground, and its nearest higher Munro, Ben More, is 10.4 miles away. A cairn marks the summit, and a second cairn about 150 m north-west is lower.
Through the year
Hours of daylight on Ben Lui 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Beinn a' Chleibh | 3,006 ft (916 m) | 1.1 mi (1.7 km) |
| Ben Oss | 3,376 ft (1,029 m) | 1.4 mi (2.3 km) |
| Beinn Dubhchraig | 3,209 ft (978 m) | 2.6 mi (4.2 km) |
Common questions about Ben Lui
- How high is Ben Lui?
- Ben Lui is 3,712 ft (1,131 m), number 27 of the 282 Munros by height, in the West Highlands.
- How long does it take to climb Ben Lui?
- About 2 h 20 min up and 50 min back down by our route from Car park near Achnafalnich, before stops: 2.5 mi (4.1 km) each way with 3,041 ft (927 m) of climbing. That is one of the quicker Munros to climb. Most people take longer than these estimates.
- Where do you park for Ben Lui?
- Our route starts at Car park near Achnafalnich.
- Can you climb Ben Lui without a car?
- The nearest railway station is Dalmally, 4.9 mi (7.9 km) from the start, and the nearest bus stop on the map is Glenview Road End, 4.2 mi (6.7 km) from the start. Highland trains and buses are few, so check times on Traveline Scotland before you go.
- Is Ben Lui a hard Munro?
- By time and climbing, it is one of the quicker Munros to climb, with 3,041 ft (927 m) of ascent over 2.5 mi (4.1 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 Ben Lui?
- 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 West Highlands before you go.
Questions
Where can I get a proper mountain forecast?
Read the Mountain Weather Information Service forecast for the West 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 2026-10-24T19:56:08.831Z. 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 20 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. Ben Lui is hill 65 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.