Number 55 of 282 by height · Cairngorms and Monadhliath
Bynack More
Beinneag Mhòr
3,576 ft (1,090 m)
Facts
- Grid reference
- NJ 041 063
- Latitude, longitude
- 57.13823, -3.58472
- Area
- Cairngorms and Monadhliath
The walk up
- Distance, one way
- 6.8 mi (11 km)
- Climb
- 2,552 ft (778 m)
- Estimated time up
- 3 h 30 min
- Start
- Allt Ban
Route picked by computer, not yet checked on the hill
Summit conditions
From Sunday 1 November, 17:07. Not live.
- Weather
- Partly cloudy
- Temperature
- 34°F (1°C)
- Wind chill
- 28°F (−2°C)
- Wind
- 6 mph (10 km/h) from the northwest
- Cloud cover
- 50%
- Rain or snow, next hour
- None
- Freezing level, rough estimate
- 4,131 ft (1,259 m)
- Sunrise, sunset
- 07:24, 16:31
The way up
From Allt Ban, follow the path east for 0.8 mi, almost level. Then follow the track north-east for 1.7 mi, almost level. On the way you cross the Allt na Feithe Duibhe and the Allt na Feithe Duibhe and pass An Lochan Uaine on your right. It then turns east for 1.0 mi, almost level. On the way you pass Loch a' Gharbh-chorie on your left. Then follow the path south-east for 1.9 mi, climbing steadily from 1,450 ft to 2,550 ft. On the way you cross the River Nethy by a bridge. It then turns south for the last 1.4 mi to the summit, climbing steadily from 2,550 ft to 3,600 ft. The steepest part is between 2,800 ft and 3,500 ft, about 6.1 mi from the start. The summit is at 3,576 ft (1,090 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
Allt Ban. Pay to park. This is where the walking route starts.
Driving directions to the Bynack More car park57.16438,-3.68718
By train
Nearest station: Aviemore, 5.6 mi (8.9 km) from the car park.
By bus
Nearest bus stop on the map: Cairngorm Visitor Centre, 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
- Café: Allt Mor Café 0.3 mi (0.5 km)
- Campsite: Glenmore Camp Site 0.3 mi (0.6 km)
- Hostel: Cairngorm Lodge Youth Hostel 0.4 mi (0.6 km)
- Toilets 0.4 mi (0.6 km)
- Toilets 0.5 mi (0.8 km)
- Café: Boathouse Café 0.6 mi (1.0 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 Bynack More
- In Gaelic
- Beinneag Mhòr
Bynack More sits in the north-eastern corner of the Cairngorms, about 10 miles east-south-east of Aviemore, standing a little apart from the other high tops. It is a long hill running north to south, crowned by a broad plateau, though from some angles it looks like a cone. The eastern flank is steep and rocky, falling about 985 ft (300 m) to the headwaters of the Water of Caiplich.
It has two subsidiary tops. Bynack Beg, 3,163 ft (964 m), lies about 0.6 miles to the north-west. A' Choinneach, 3,337 ft (1,017 m), lies about a mile to the south-west and was counted as a Munro until the 1981 revision of the tables. The Saddle, a col at 2,648 ft (807 m), links Bynack More to Cairn Gorm, its nearest higher neighbour, and the hill rises 928 ft (283 m) above it.
The summit cairn is built of granite boulders and looks across the craggy sides of Strath Nethy to Cairn Gorm. The true summit is a rock about 45 m north of the cairn.
Tops on Bynack More
2 lower summits in the Munro tables, not counted as separate Munros. Keen baggers tick these too.
| Top | Height | From the summit |
|---|---|---|
| A' ChoinneachNJ 032 048 | 3,337 ft (1,017 m) | 1.1 mi (1.8 km) |
| Bynack BegNJ 036 068 | 3,182 ft (970 m) | 0.5 mi (0.7 km) |
Through the year
Hours of daylight on Bynack 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Cairn Gorm | 4,084 ft (1,245 m) | 2.7 mi (4.3 km) |
| Beinn Mheadhoin | 3,881 ft (1,183 m) | 3.1 mi (5.0 km) |
| Beinn a' Chaorainn | 3,553 ft (1,083 m) | 3.1 mi (5.0 km) |
Common questions about Bynack More
- How high is Bynack More?
- Bynack More is 3,576 ft (1,090 m), number 55 of the 282 Munros by height, in the Cairngorms and Monadhliath.
- How long does it take to climb Bynack More?
- About 3 h 30 min up and 2 h 15 min back down by our route from Allt Ban, before stops: 6.8 mi (11 km) each way with 2,552 ft (778 m) of climbing. That is about average for a Munro. Most people take longer than these estimates.
- Where do you park for Bynack More?
- Our route starts at Allt Ban. There is a parking charge.
- Can you climb Bynack More without a car?
- The nearest railway station is Aviemore, 5.6 mi (8.9 km) from the start, and the nearest bus stop on the map is Cairngorm Visitor Centre, 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 Bynack More a hard Munro?
- By time and climbing, it is about average for a Munro, with 2,552 ft (778 m) of ascent over 6.8 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 Bynack 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 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.
- Path geometry: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Overpass API extract fetched 2026-10-24T19:59:57.025Z. 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 30 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. Bynack More is hill 557 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.