Number 116 of 282 by height · Northwest Highlands
Garbh Chioch Mhor
Garbh Chioch Mhòr
3,323 ft (1,013 m)
Facts
- Grid reference
- NM 909 961
- Latitude, longitude
- 57.00857, -5.44434
- Area
- Northwest Highlands
The walk up
- Distance, one way
- 7.6 mi (12 km)
- Climb
- 3,087 ft (941 m)
- Estimated time up
- 4 h
- Start
- Car park near Strathan
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
- 31°F (−1°C)
- Wind
- 4 mph (6 km/h) from the northwest
- Cloud cover
- 10%
- Rain or snow, next hour
- None
- Freezing level, rough estimate
- 3,878 ft (1,182 m)
- Sunrise, sunset
- 07:31, 16:39
The way up
From Car park near Strathan, follow the road west for 0.7 mi, almost level. On the way you pass Loch Arkaig on your left and cross the Dearg Allt. It then turns north-west for 2.0 mi, almost level. On the way you cross the Allt Coire Chicheanais, a bridge and a bridge. Then follow the path north-west for 3.6 mi, climbing steadily from 350 ft to 2,000 ft. On the way you cross the Upper Glendessary, the Allt Coire nan Uth and the Finiskaig River. It then turns north for 0.5 mi, climbing steeply from 2,000 ft to 2,450 ft. It then turns east for the last 0.5 mi to the summit, climbing very steeply from 2,450 ft to 3,300 ft. On the way you reach the bealach of Feadan na Cìche. The steepest part is between 2,200 ft and 3,150 ft, about 6.7 mi from the start. The summit is at 3,323 ft (1,013 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 Strathan. Parking charge not known. This is where the walking route starts.
Driving directions to the Garbh Chioch Mhor car park56.97152,-5.31229
By train
Nearest station: Locheilside, 8.0 mi (13 km) from the car park.
By bus
No bus stop on the map within 5 miles of the car park. The nearest is Post Office, 7.7 mi (12 km) away. Check the times first: many Highland buses run only a few times a day.
Public transport directionsBus and train times on Traveline Scotland
About Garbh Chioch Mhor
- In Gaelic
- Garbh Chioch Mhòr
Garbh Chioch Mhor lies in Lochaber between Loch Nevis and Loch Quoich, a very rocky hill in a remote corner of the Northwest Highlands. It rises 556 ft (170 m) above the col linking it to Sgurr na Ciche, its higher neighbour just 0.6 miles away, with Sgurr nan Coireachan 1.5 miles off.
Its one subsidiary top is Garbh Chioch Bheag. The true summit is a rock outcrop, and the cairn about 25 m to the east is roughly a metre lower.
Tops on Garbh Chioch Mhor
One lower summit in the Munro tables, not counted as separate Munros. Keen baggers tick these too.
| Top | Height | From the summit |
|---|---|---|
| Garbh Chioch BheagNM 918 959 | 3,177 ft (968 m) | 0.5 mi (0.9 km) |
Through the year
Hours of daylight on Garbh Chioch Mhor 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sgurr na Ciche | 3,413 ft (1,040 m) | 0.6 mi (0.9 km) |
| Sgurr nan Coireachan | 3,129 ft (954 m) | 1.5 mi (2.4 km) |
| Sgurr Mor | 3,291 ft (1,003 m) | 3.7 mi (5.9 km) |
Common questions about Garbh Chioch Mhor
- How high is Garbh Chioch Mhor?
- Garbh Chioch Mhor is 3,323 ft (1,013 m), number 116 of the 282 Munros by height, in the Northwest Highlands.
- How long does it take to climb Garbh Chioch Mhor?
- About 4 h up and 2 h 30 min back down by our route from Car park near Strathan, before stops: 7.6 mi (12 km) each way with 3,087 ft (941 m) of climbing. That is one of the longer Munro days. Most people take longer than these estimates.
- Where do you park for Garbh Chioch Mhor?
- Our route starts at Car park near Strathan.
- Can you climb Garbh Chioch Mhor without a car?
- The nearest railway station is Locheilside, 8.0 mi (13 km) from the start. Highland trains and buses are few, so check times on Traveline Scotland before you go.
- Is Garbh Chioch Mhor a hard Munro?
- It involves scrambling: part of the route is graded alpine hiking on OpenStreetMap, with exposed or rocky ground where you use your hands. It is not a walk for beginners, and in winter it needs mountaineering skills.
- When is the best time to climb Garbh Chioch Mhor?
- 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.
- About 0.3 mi of the path is graded alpine hiking (T4) in OpenStreetMap: expect scrambling or exposed ground.
- 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 4 h, 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. Garbh Chioch Mhor is hill 732 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.