Number 169 of 282 by height · Northwest Highlands
Ciste Dhubh
A' Chiste Dhubh
3,219 ft (981 m)
Facts
- Grid reference
- NH 062 166
- Latitude, longitude
- 57.19926, -5.20904
- Area
- Northwest Highlands
The walk up
- Distance, one way
- 3.9 mi (6.3 km)
- Climb
- 2,434 ft (742 m)
- Estimated time up
- 2 h 30 min
- Start
- Car park near Cluanie Lodge
Route picked by computer, not yet checked on the hill
Summit conditions
From Sunday 1 November, 17:07. Not live.
- Weather
- Fair
- Temperature
- 34°F (1°C)
- Wind chill
- 30°F (−1°C)
- Wind
- 4 mph (7 km/h) from the northwest
- Cloud cover
- 20%
- Rain or snow, next hour
- None
- Freezing level, rough estimate
- 3,724 ft (1,135 m)
- Sunrise, sunset
- 07:31, 16:37
The way up
From Car park near Cluanie Lodge, follow the road south-west for 1300 ft, almost level. On the way you pass Loch Cluanie on your left. Then follow the path north-west for 2.7 mi, climbing steadily from 720 ft to 2,300 ft. It then turns north for the last 0.9 mi to the summit, climbing steeply from 2,300 ft to 3,200 ft. The steepest part is between 2,000 ft and 2,750 ft, about 2.8 mi from the start. The summit is at 3,219 ft (981 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 Cluanie Lodge. Parking charge not known. This is where the walking route starts.
Driving directions to the Ciste Dhubh car park57.15970,-5.16462
By train
Nearest station: Attadale, 20 mi (31 km) from the car park. Too far to walk in from.
By bus
Nearest bus stop on the map: Inn, 0.7 mi (1.2 km) from the car park. Check the times first: many Highland buses run only a few times a day.
Near the start
- Place to eat: Cluanie Inn 0.7 mi (1.1 km)
- Café: Landour Bakehouse 0.7 mi (1.1 km)
- Toilets 0.7 mi (1.1 km)
- Toilets 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 Ciste Dhubh
- In Gaelic
- A' Chiste Dhubh
- Means
- The black chest
Ciste Dhubh lies between Glen Shiel and Glen Affric, a sharp peak with grassy flanks and some crags on the north side. The summit is steep and rocky. Deep glens surround it on three sides: Fionngleann to the north, An Caorann Mor to the east and the Allt Cam-ban to the west. Ridges run north and north-west down to upper Glen Affric.
Only to the south is it joined to other high ground, by the boggy Bealach a' Choinich at 1,938 ft (591 m). That pass links it to Aonach Meadhoin and to the Corbett Am Bathach, and Ciste Dhubh rises 1,281 ft (391 m) above it. Its northern, eastern and western slopes feed the headwaters of the River Affric, which flows to the Beauly Firth, while the south side drains by Loch Cluanie, the Moriston and Loch Ness to the Moray Firth.
The hill is ringed by higher peaks, none of them crowding it, so the cairn on top gives good views of Mullach Fraoch-choire, A' Chralaig and Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan.
Through the year
Hours of daylight on Ciste Dhubh 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Aonach Meadhoin | 3,284 ft (1,001 m) | 2.0 mi (3.2 km) |
| Mullach Fraoch-choire | 3,615 ft (1,102 m) | 2.0 mi (3.3 km) |
| Sgurr a' Bhealaich Dheirg | 3,399 ft (1,036 m) | 2.2 mi (3.5 km) |
Common questions about Ciste Dhubh
- How high is Ciste Dhubh?
- Ciste Dhubh is 3,219 ft (981 m), number 169 of the 282 Munros by height, in the Northwest Highlands.
- How long does it take to climb Ciste Dhubh?
- About 2 h 30 min up and 1 h 15 min back down by our route from Car park near Cluanie Lodge, before stops: 3.9 mi (6.3 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 Ciste Dhubh?
- Our route starts at Car park near Cluanie Lodge.
- Can you climb Ciste Dhubh without a car?
- The nearest railway station is Attadale, 20 mi (31 km) from the start, and the nearest bus stop on the map is Inn, 0.7 mi (1.2 km) from the start. Highland trains and buses are few, so check times on Traveline Scotland before you go.
- Is Ciste Dhubh a hard Munro?
- By time and climbing, it is about average for a Munro, with 2,434 ft (742 m) of ascent over 3.9 mi (6.3 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 Ciste Dhubh mean?
- In Gaelic it is A' Chiste Dhubh. It is usually translated as "the black chest".
- When is the best time to climb Ciste Dhubh?
- 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 Northwest Highlands before you go.
Questions
Where can I get a proper mountain forecast?
Read the Mountain Weather Information Service forecast for the Northwest 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.
- Walks 0.2 mi along a main road before the path starts.
- Path geometry: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Overpass API extract fetched 2026-10-24T20:03:25.525Z. 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 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. Ciste Dhubh is hill 834 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.