Number 224 of 282 by height · Cairngorms and Monadhliath
Carn Bhac
Càrn Bhac
3,101 ft (945 m)
Facts
- Grid reference
- NO 051 832
- Latitude, longitude
- 56.93055, -3.56088
- Area
- Cairngorms and Monadhliath
The walk up
- Distance, one way
- 6.0 mi (9.7 km)
- Climb
- 2,434 ft (742 m)
- Estimated time up
- 3 h 10 min
- Start
- Car park near Inverey
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
- 30°F (−1°C)
- Wind
- 7 mph (12 km/h) from the northwest
- Cloud cover
- 11%
- Rain or snow, next hour
- None
- Freezing level, rough estimate
- 4,160 ft (1,268 m)
- Sunrise, sunset
- 07:23, 16:32
The way up
From Car park near Inverey, follow the track south for 4.0 mi, climbing gently from 1,150 ft to 2,350 ft. On the way you cross the Ey Burn by a bridge and pass Falls of Allt Connie. Then follow the path south for 0.7 mi, climbing steeply from 2,350 ft to 2,900 ft. It then turns west for the last 1.3 mi to the summit, almost level. On the way you go over Càrn Creagach (2,950 ft). The steepest part is between 2,700 ft and 3,100 ft, about 5.6 mi from the start. The summit is at 3,101 ft (945 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 Inverey. Parking charge not known. This is where the walking route starts.
Driving directions to the Carn Bhac car park56.98523,-3.50004
By train
Nearest station: Aviemore, 19 mi (30 km) from the car park. Too far to walk in from.
By bus
Nearest bus stop on the map: Auchendryne Square, 3.9 mi (6.3 km) from the car park. Check the times first: many Highland buses run only a few times a day.
Near the start
- Bothy or hut: Muir Cottage 0.8 mi (1.3 km)
- Toilets 1.6 mi (2.6 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 Carn Bhac
- In Gaelic
- Càrn Bhac
Carn Bhac lies south-west of the village of Inverey in Aberdeenshire, in the southern Mounth. It is one of the quieter hills of the area. It rises 613 ft (187 m) above the col linking it to higher ground, and its nearest higher neighbour is Beinn Iutharn Mhor, 2.5 miles away, with An Socach 2.7 miles off. It has one subsidiary top, Carn Bhac SW Top.
The summit can confuse. There is a large shelter cairn, but the true summit is a small cairn about 30 m south of it.
Tops on Carn Bhac
One lower summit in the Munro tables, not counted as separate Munros. Keen baggers tick these too.
| Top | Height | From the summit |
|---|---|---|
| Carn Bhac SW TopNO 041 827 | 3,012 ft (918 m) | 0.7 mi (1.1 km) |
Through the year
Hours of daylight on Carn Bhac 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 Iutharn Mhor | 3,428 ft (1,045 m) | 2.5 mi (4.0 km) |
| An Socach | 3,097 ft (944 m) | 2.7 mi (4.3 km) |
| Carn an Righ | 3,376 ft (1,029 m) | 3.9 mi (6.4 km) |
Common questions about Carn Bhac
- How high is Carn Bhac?
- Carn Bhac is 3,101 ft (945 m), number 224 of the 282 Munros by height, in the Cairngorms and Monadhliath.
- How long does it take to climb Carn Bhac?
- About 3 h 10 min up and 2 h 10 min back down by our route from Car park near Inverey, before stops: 6.0 mi (9.7 km) each way with 2,434 ft (742 m) of climbing. That is about average for a Munro. Most people take longer than these estimates.
- Where do you park for Carn Bhac?
- Our route starts at Car park near Inverey.
- Can you climb Carn Bhac without a car?
- The nearest railway station is Aviemore, 19 mi (30 km) from the start, and the nearest bus stop on the map is Auchendryne Square, 3.9 mi (6.3 km) from the start. Highland trains and buses are few, so check times on Traveline Scotland before you go.
- Is Carn Bhac a hard Munro?
- By time and climbing, it is about average for a Munro, with 2,434 ft (742 m) of ascent over 6.0 mi (9.7 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 Carn Bhac?
- 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 2026-10-24T19:58:18.650Z. 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 10 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. Carn Bhac is hill 432 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.