Number 16 of 282 by height · West Highlands
Ben More
Beinn Mhòr
3,852 ft (1,174 m)
Facts
- Grid reference
- NN 432 244
- Latitude, longitude
- 56.38597, -4.54010
- Area
- West Highlands
The walk up
- Distance, one way
- 2.5 mi (4.1 km)
- Climb
- 3,225 ft (983 m)
- Estimated time up
- 2 h 25 min
- Start
- Car park near Benmore Farm
Summit conditions
From Sunday 1 November, 20:25. Not live.
- Weather
- Clear sky
- Temperature
- 30°F (−1°C)
- Wind chill
- 27°F (−3°C)
- Wind
- 4 mph (6 km/h) from the northwest
- Cloud cover
- 1%
- Rain or snow, next hour
- None
- Freezing level, rough estimate
- 3,399 ft (1,036 m), below the summit
- Sunrise, sunset
- 07:25, 16:37
The way up
From Car park near Benmore Farm, follow the path east for 0.5 mi, almost level. On the way you pass Loch Dochart on your left and cross the Benmore Burn. Then follow the track south-east for 0.6 mi, climbing steadily from 530 ft to 970 ft. Then follow the path south-east for the last 1.1 mi to the summit, climbing very steeply from 970 ft to 3,850 ft. The steepest part is between 1,900 ft and 3,450 ft, about 1.6 mi from the start. The summit is at 3,852 ft (1,174 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 Benmore Farm. Parking charge not known. This is where the walking route starts.
Driving directions to the Ben More car park56.39536,-4.58502
By train
Nearest station: Crianlarich, 1.3 mi (2.1 km) from the car park.
By bus
Nearest bus stop on the map: Crianlarich opposite Police Station, 1.2 mi (2.0 km) from the car park. Check the times first: many Highland buses run only a few times a day.
Near the start
- Hostel: Inverardran Cottage 0.9 mi (1.4 km)
- Pub: Rod & Reel 1.2 mi (1.9 km)
- Hostel: Crianlarich Youth Hostel 1.2 mi (2.0 km)
- Shop: Crianlarich Store 1.2 mi (2.0 km)
- Toilets 1.3 mi (2.1 km)
- Toilets 1.3 mi (2.1 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 Ben More
- In Gaelic
- Beinn Mhòr
- Means
- The great mountain
Ben More stands near Crianlarich in the Breadalbane region, the highest of the Crianlarich Hills. It is separated from its twin, Stob Binnein, 1.1 miles away, by the Bealach-eadar-da-Bheinn. At 3,852 ft (1,174 m) it is the 16th highest Munro, and it rises 3,235 ft (986 m) above the col that links it to higher ground, with the nearest higher Munro, Ben Lawers, 16.4 miles away.
The north-west ridge is unrelentingly steep, climbing about 3,300 ft (1,000 m) in about 2.5 miles, while the north-east ridge is craggier but less steep. The Cuidhe Chrom is the only snow patch in the Southern Highlands named on a 1:25,000 OS map, and it sometimes survives into July.
On 19 January 1973 a British European Airways Viscount on a test flight from Glasgow struck the hill just below the summit, killing all four people aboard, and two men died when their microlight crashed here in May 2012. A trig point marks the summit.
Through the year
Hours of daylight on Ben More 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Stob Binnein | 3,822 ft (1,165 m) | 1.1 mi (1.7 km) |
| Cruach Ardrain | 3,431 ft (1,046 m) | 2.5 mi (4.0 km) |
| Beinn Tulaichean | 3,103 ft (946 m) | 3.2 mi (5.1 km) |
Common questions about Ben More
- How high is Ben More?
- Ben More is 3,852 ft (1,174 m), number 16 of the 282 Munros by height, in the West Highlands.
- How long does it take to climb Ben More?
- About 2 h 25 min up and 50 min back down by our route from Car park near Benmore Farm, before stops: 2.5 mi (4.1 km) each way with 3,225 ft (983 m) of climbing. That is about average for a Munro. Most people take longer than these estimates.
- Where do you park for Ben More?
- Our route starts at Car park near Benmore Farm.
- Can you climb Ben More without a car?
- The nearest railway station is Crianlarich, 1.3 mi (2.1 km) from the start, and the nearest bus stop on the map is Crianlarich opposite Police Station, 1.2 mi (2.0 km) from the start. Highland trains and buses are few, so check times on Traveline Scotland before you go.
- Is Ben More a hard Munro?
- By time and climbing, it is about average for a Munro, with 3,225 ft (983 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.
- What does Ben More mean?
- In Gaelic it is Beinn Mhòr. It is usually translated as "the great mountain".
- When is the best time to climb Ben More?
- 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. The start and the line were chosen by hand from the usual way up. A line on a map is not a description of the ground.
- Path geometry: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Overpass API extract fetched 2026-10-24T16:47:53.098Z, 10 OSM ways routed with Dijkstra (shortest distance; trunk/primary/secondary roads penalised so they are used only where no path exists).
- Elevation: Copernicus DEM GLO-90 via the Open-Meteo Elevation API, sampled every 50 m, smoothed with a 5-sample rolling median; ascent/descent summed with a 5 m hysteresis band; the 90 m DEM also rounds off summits, so maxElevM can sit below the surveyed height.
- Summit position: Database of British and Irish Hills v18 (CC BY 4.0).
Built 2026-10-24.
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 25 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 More is hill 26 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.