Number 33 of 282 by height · Southeastern Highlands
Carn nan Gabhar (Beinn a' Ghlo)
Càrn nan Gabhar
3,681 ft (1,122 m)
Facts
- Grid reference
- NN 971 733
- Latitude, longitude
- 56.83985, -3.68805
- Area
- Southeastern Highlands
The walk up
- Distance, one way
- 6.7 mi (11 km)
- Climb
- 2,654 ft (809 m)
- Estimated time up
- 3 h 30 min
- Start
- Car park near Monzie
Route picked by computer, not yet checked on the hill
Summit conditions
From Sunday 1 November, 17:07. Not live.
- Weather
- Clear sky
- Temperature
- 34°F (1°C)
- Wind chill
- 27°F (−3°C)
- Wind
- 8 mph (13 km/h) from the northwest
- Cloud cover
- 6%
- Rain or snow, next hour
- None
- Freezing level, rough estimate
- 4,236 ft (1,291 m)
- Sunrise, sunset
- 07:23, 16:32
The way up
From Car park near Monzie, follow the track east for 2.5 mi, almost level. On the way you pass Loch Moraig on your right. Then follow the path north-east for 1.4 mi, climbing gently from 1,400 ft to 1,800 ft. On the way you cross the Allt Coire na Saobhaidh. It then turns north for 1.6 mi, climbing steadily from 1,800 ft to 2,600 ft. It then turns north-east for the last 1.2 mi to the summit, climbing steeply from 2,600 ft to 3,700 ft. On the way you reach the bealach of Bealach an Fhioda. The steepest part is between 2,300 ft and 3,000 ft, about 5.2 mi from the start. The summit is at 3,681 ft (1,122 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 Monzie. Pay to park. This is where the walking route starts.
Driving directions to the Carn nan Gabhar (Beinn a' Ghlo) car park56.78255,-3.79312
By train
Nearest station: Blair Atholl, 2.5 mi (3.9 km) from the car park.
By bus
Nearest bus stop on the map: Killiecrankie, 2.7 mi (4.3 km) from the car park. Check the times first: many Highland buses run only a few times a day.
Public transport directionsBus and train times on Traveline Scotland
About Carn nan Gabhar (Beinn a' Ghlo)
- In Gaelic
- Càrn nan Gabhar
- Means
- Hill or cairn of the goats
- Say it
- karn nung KOH-er
Carn nan Gabhar is the highest of the three Munros on Beinn a' Ghlo, a huge, complicated hill about 6 miles north-east of Blair Atholl between Glen Tilt and Glen Loch, in the Cairngorms National Park. The massif covers around 15 square miles. Local legend says it has nineteen corries, and that a rifle shot in one cannot be heard in any of the others.
The hill's plant life is rich enough for an SSSI and Special Area of Conservation covering about 31 square miles, with rare alpine plants such as yellow oxytropis, mountain avens and rock speedwell. In May 1993 an RAF Hercules crashed on the mountain during low-level training, killing all nine on board.
Carn nan Gabhar rises 2,159 ft (658 m) above the col linking it to higher ground, and its subsidiary top is Airgiod Bheinn, 3,481 ft (1,061 m). The true summit is a rock at the base of the large cairn, not the trig point to the south-west. Views take in the Cairngorms, the Glen Shee hills and Glen Loch below.
Tops on Carn nan Gabhar (Beinn a' Ghlo)
One lower summit in the Munro tables, not counted as separate Munros. Keen baggers tick these too.
| Top | Height | From the summit |
|---|---|---|
| Airgiod BheinnNN 961 719 | 3,483 ft (1,062 m) | 1.0 mi (1.6 km) |
Through the year
Hours of daylight on Carn nan Gabhar (Beinn a' Ghlo) 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Braigh Coire Chruinn-bhalgain (Beinn a' Ghlo) | 3,510 ft (1,070 m) | 1.7 mi (2.7 km) |
| Carn Liath (Beinn a' Ghlo) | 3,202 ft (976 m) | 3.1 mi (4.9 km) |
| Carn a' Chlamain | 3,161 ft (964 m) | 3.8 mi (6.0 km) |
Common questions about Carn nan Gabhar (Beinn a' Ghlo)
- How high is Carn nan Gabhar (Beinn a' Ghlo)?
- Carn nan Gabhar (Beinn a' Ghlo) is 3,681 ft (1,122 m), number 33 of the 282 Munros by height, in the Southeastern Highlands.
- How long does it take to climb Carn nan Gabhar (Beinn a' Ghlo)?
- About 3 h 30 min up and 2 h 15 min back down by our route from Car park near Monzie, before stops: 6.7 mi (11 km) each way with 2,654 ft (809 m) of climbing. That is about average for a Munro. Most people take longer than these estimates.
- Where do you park for Carn nan Gabhar (Beinn a' Ghlo)?
- Our route starts at Car park near Monzie. There is a parking charge.
- Can you climb Carn nan Gabhar (Beinn a' Ghlo) without a car?
- The nearest railway station is Blair Atholl, 2.5 mi (3.9 km) from the start, and the nearest bus stop on the map is Killiecrankie, 2.7 mi (4.3 km) from the start. Highland trains and buses are few, so check times on Traveline Scotland before you go.
- Is Carn nan Gabhar (Beinn a' Ghlo) a hard Munro?
- By time and climbing, it is about average for a Munro, with 2,654 ft (809 m) of ascent over 6.7 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.
- What does Carn nan Gabhar (Beinn a' Ghlo) mean?
- In Gaelic it is Càrn nan Gabhar. It is usually translated as "hill or cairn of the goats".
- When is the best time to climb Carn nan Gabhar (Beinn a' Ghlo)?
- 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 Southeastern Highlands before you go.
Questions
Where can I get a proper mountain forecast?
Read the Mountain Weather Information Service forecast for the Southeastern 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. 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 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. Carn nan Gabhar (Beinn a' Ghlo) is hill 421 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.