Carn na Caim Carn na Caim from Layby 87
- Distance, one way
- 4.0 mi (6.5 km)
- Ascent
- 1,893 ft (577 m)
- Estimated time up
- 2 h 15 min
- Starts at
- Layby 87
Picked by computer, not yet checked on the hill. It may not be the usual way up.
The way up
From Layby 87, follow the track east for 0.5 mi, climbing gently from 1,300 ft to 1,400 ft. It then turns south-east for 1.7 mi, climbing steeply from 1,400 ft to 2,900 ft. Then follow the path north-east for the last 1.7 mi to the summit, almost level. The steepest part is between 1,800 ft and 2,400 ft, about 1.1 mi from the start. The summit is at 3,087 ft (941 m).
Written from the map, not from walking it. Paths on the ground can differ, so carry a map and compass.
Take it on the hill
Save this route to your phone before you go. With no signal, open this page and press the location button on the map: your phone's GPS shows where you are on the route.
Record your walk
Draws your actual line on the map and saves it on this phone. Reach the summit and it ticks Carn na Caim off for you. Keep this page open: phones pause recording when the screen locks.
Plan your day
Up by the estimated time, back down the same way, plus your stops. Sunrise and sunset at the car park.
Walk the route
Your system asks for reduced motion, so the camera stays still. The slider still moves the marker on the map and the profile.
Summit conditions
From Sunday 1 November, 17:07. Not live.
- Weather
- Clear sky
- Temperature
- 38°F (3°C)
- Wind chill
- 33°F (0°C)
- Wind
- 6 mph (10 km/h) from the northwest
- Cloud cover
- 8%
- Rain or snow, next hour
- None
- Freezing level, rough estimate
- 4,701 ft (1,433 m)
- Sunrise, sunset
- 07:25, 16:34
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 2026-10-24T19:57:04.412Z. 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 15 min, one way. It ignores rough ground, weather, stops and the walk back down, so most people take longer.
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 na Caim is hill 389 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.