Number 1 of 282 by height · West Highlands
Ben Nevis
Beinn Nibheis
4,411 ft (1,345 m)
Facts
- Grid reference
- NN 166 712
- Latitude, longitude
- 56.79690, -5.00370
- Area
- West Highlands
The walk up
- Distance, one way
- 5.0 mi (8.1 km)
- Climb
- 4,308 ft (1,313 m)
- Estimated time up
- 3 h 50 min
- Start
- Car park near Ben Nevis Visitor Centre
Summit conditions
From Sunday 1 November, 20:25. Not live.
- Weather
- Fair
- Temperature
- 28°F (−2°C)
- Wind
- 2 mph (3 km/h) from the north
- Cloud cover
- 14%
- Rain or snow, next hour
- None
- Freezing level, rough estimate
- 3,350 ft (1,021 m), below the summit
- Sunrise, sunset
- 07:28, 16:38
The way up
From Car park near Ben Nevis Visitor Centre, follow the path south-east for 1.6 mi, climbing steadily from 60 ft to 1,200 ft. On the way you cross the River Nevis by a bridge. It then turns north-east for 0.6 mi, climbing steeply from 1,200 ft to 1,900 ft. It then turns south-east for 1.2 mi, climbing steeply from 1,900 ft to 3,050 ft. On the way you cross the Allt na n-Urchaire. It then turns east for the last 1.4 mi to the summit, climbing steeply from 3,050 ft to 4,400 ft. The steepest part is between 760 ft and 1,700 ft, about 1.3 mi from the start. The summit is at 4,411 ft (1,345 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 Ben Nevis Visitor Centre. Pay to park. This is where the walking route starts.
Driving directions to the Ben Nevis car park56.81101,-5.07672
By train
Nearest station: Fort William, 1.3 mi (2.0 km) from the car park.
By bus
Nearest bus stop on the map: Campsite stop on signal, 0.4 mi (0.6 km) from the car park. Check the times first: many Highland buses run only a few times a day.
Near the start
- Toilets by the start
- Pub: Ben Nevis Inn 0.2 mi (0.3 km)
- Toilets 0.5 mi (0.7 km)
- Campsite: Glen Nevis Caravan and Camping Park 0.5 mi (0.7 km)
- Shop: Glen Nevis campsite shop 0.5 mi (0.8 km)
- Place to eat: Glen Nevis Restaurant & Bar 0.7 mi (1.1 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 Nevis
- In Gaelic
- Beinn Nibheis
- Means
- Mountain of the Nevis
- Say it
- pen NYEE-vish
Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in Scotland, the UK and the British Isles and stands near Fort William. It rises 4,411 ft (1,345 m) from sea level as the highest point of its land mass, and no higher ground lies in any direction for about 459 miles. Its western and southern flanks climb about 3,900 ft (1,200 m) in 1.2 miles above Glen Nevis, the longest and steepest hill slope in Britain.
The mountain is what remains of a volcano that collapsed in on itself around 350 million years ago. James Robertson, an Edinburgh botanist, made the first recorded ascent on 17 August 1771, and C. T. R. Wilson's spell at the summit observatory in 1894 led to his invention of the cloud chamber.
The summit is a stony plateau of about 100 acres, ringed by cliffs on three sides, where the Peace Memorial of 1945 is billed as Britain's highest war memorial. The trig point sits on a large cairn, and the highest natural ground is about 10 m north-west of it.
Tops on Ben Nevis
2 lower summits in the Munro tables, not counted as separate Munros. Keen baggers tick these too.
| Top | Height | From the summit |
|---|---|---|
| Carn Dearg (NW)NN 159 719 | 4,006 ft (1,221 m) | 0.6 mi (1.0 km) |
| Carn Dearg (SW)NN 155 701 | 3,346 ft (1,020 m) | 1.0 mi (1.6 km) |
Through the year
Hours of daylight on Ben Nevis 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Carn Mor Dearg | 4,003 ft (1,220 m) | 0.9 mi (1.4 km) |
| Aonach Beag | 4,049 ft (1,234 m) | 1.9 mi (3.0 km) |
| Aonach Mor | 4,004 ft (1,220 m) | 1.9 mi (3.1 km) |
Common questions about Ben Nevis
- How high is Ben Nevis?
- Ben Nevis is 4,411 ft (1,345 m), number 1 of the 282 Munros by height, in the West Highlands.
- How long does it take to climb Ben Nevis?
- About 3 h 50 min up and 1 h 40 min back down by our route from Car park near Ben Nevis Visitor Centre, before stops: 5.0 mi (8.1 km) each way with 4,308 ft (1,313 m) of climbing. That is one of the longer Munro days. Most people take longer than these estimates.
- Where do you park for Ben Nevis?
- Our route starts at Car park near Ben Nevis Visitor Centre. There is a parking charge.
- Can you climb Ben Nevis without a car?
- The nearest railway station is Fort William, 1.3 mi (2.0 km) from the start, and the nearest bus stop on the map is Campsite stop on signal, 0.4 mi (0.6 km) from the start. Highland trains and buses are few, so check times on Traveline Scotland before you go.
- Is Ben Nevis a hard Munro?
- By time and climbing, it is one of the longer Munro days, with 4,308 ft (1,313 m) of ascent over 5.0 mi (8.1 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 Nevis mean?
- In Gaelic it is Beinn Nibheis. It is usually translated as "mountain of the Nevis".
- When is the best time to climb Ben Nevis?
- 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 2026-10-24T16:42:23.640Z, 21 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 3 h 50 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 Nevis is hill 278 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.