Number 86 of 282 by height · Northwest Highlands
Glas Leathad Mor (Ben Wyvis)
Glas Leathad Mòr
3,432 ft (1,046 m)
Facts
- Grid reference
- NH 462 683
- Latitude, longitude
- 57.67893, -4.57925
- Area
- Northwest Highlands
The walk up
- Distance, one way
- 4.6 mi (7.4 km)
- Climb
- 3,015 ft (919 m)
- Estimated time up
- 3 h
- Start
- Ben Wyvis Car Park
Route picked by computer, not yet checked on the hill
Summit conditions
From Sunday 1 November, 17:07. Not live.
- Weather
- Fair
- Temperature
- 33°F (1°C)
- Wind chill
- 27°F (−3°C)
- Wind
- 6 mph (10 km/h) from the northwest
- Cloud cover
- 21%
- Rain or snow, next hour
- None
- Freezing level, rough estimate
- 3,734 ft (1,138 m)
- Sunrise, sunset
- 07:30, 16:33
The way up
From Ben Wyvis Car Park, follow the path east all the way to the summit, 4.4 mi, climbing steadily from 470 ft to 3,450 ft. On the way you cross the Allt a' Bhealach Mhoir, go over An Cabar (3,100 ft) and go over Carn a' Chaiptean (3,200 ft). The steepest part is between 1,800 ft and 2,850 ft, about 2.2 mi from the start. The summit is at 3,432 ft (1,046 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
Ben Wyvis Car Park. Free to park. This is where the walking route starts.
Driving directions to the Glas Leathad Mor (Ben Wyvis) car park57.66582,-4.66683
By train
Nearest station: Garve, 3.7 mi (6.0 km) from the car park.
By bus
Nearest bus stop on the map: Garve, opp Hotel, 3.5 mi (5.6 km) from the car park. Check the times first: many Highland buses run only a few times a day.
Near the start
- Pub: River Black Water Inn 1.5 mi (2.4 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 Glas Leathad Mor (Ben Wyvis)
- In Gaelic
- Glas Leathad Mòr
- Means
- The great green slope
Glas Leathad Mor is the highest point of Ben Wyvis, a long whaleback ridge in Easter Ross north-west of Dingwall, running about 3 miles north to south over Moine schist. It stands far from other Munros, rising 2,267 ft (691 m) above the col linking it to higher ground, with the nearest higher Munro, Beinn Dearg, about 15 miles away. Its tops are An Cabar, Tom a' Choinnich and Glas Leathad Beag, and the Corbett Little Wyvis lies to the south. During the last ice age the summit is thought to have stayed above the ice sheet.
The moss-heath along the summit ridge is one of the longest unbroken stretches of that habitat in Britain, and the hill is a National Nature Reserve. Heavy use has worn a braided path across the delicate plateau, which NatureScot has been repairing since 2011.
The Battle of Bealach nam Broig, probably in 1452, was fought near the pass between Ben Wyvis and Carn Mor. Cattle drovers once took a shortcut over the southern flanks. A trig point marks the summit.
Tops on Glas Leathad Mor (Ben Wyvis)
3 lower summits in the Munro tables, not counted as separate Munros. Keen baggers tick these too.
| Top | Height | From the summit |
|---|---|---|
| Tom a' ChoinnichNH 463 700 | 3,130 ft (954 m) | 1.0 mi (1.7 km) |
| An CabarNH 450 665 | 3,104 ft (946 m) | 1.4 mi (2.2 km) |
| Glas Leathad BeagNH 492 706 | 3,045 ft (928 m) | 2.3 mi (3.7 km) |
Through the year
Hours of daylight on Glas Leathad Mor (Ben Wyvis) 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Am Faochagach | 3,127 ft (953 m) | 12 mi (19 km) |
| An Coileachan | 3,031 ft (924 m) | 14 mi (22 km) |
| Cona' Mheall | 3,209 ft (978 m) | 14 mi (23 km) |
Common questions about Glas Leathad Mor (Ben Wyvis)
- How high is Glas Leathad Mor (Ben Wyvis)?
- Glas Leathad Mor (Ben Wyvis) is 3,432 ft (1,046 m), number 86 of the 282 Munros by height, in the Northwest Highlands.
- How long does it take to climb Glas Leathad Mor (Ben Wyvis)?
- About 3 h up and 1 h 30 min back down by our route from Ben Wyvis Car Park, before stops: 4.6 mi (7.4 km) each way with 3,015 ft (919 m) of climbing. That is about average for a Munro. Most people take longer than these estimates.
- Where do you park for Glas Leathad Mor (Ben Wyvis)?
- Our route starts at Ben Wyvis Car Park. It is free to park.
- Can you climb Glas Leathad Mor (Ben Wyvis) without a car?
- The nearest railway station is Garve, 3.7 mi (6.0 km) from the start, and the nearest bus stop on the map is Garve, opp Hotel, 3.5 mi (5.6 km) from the start. Highland trains and buses are few, so check times on Traveline Scotland before you go.
- Is Glas Leathad Mor (Ben Wyvis) a hard Munro?
- By time and climbing, it is about average for a Munro, with 3,015 ft (919 m) of ascent over 4.6 mi (7.4 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 Glas Leathad Mor (Ben Wyvis) mean?
- In Gaelic it is Glas Leathad Mòr. It is usually translated as "the great green slope".
- When is the best time to climb Glas Leathad Mor (Ben Wyvis)?
- 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.
- Path geometry: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Overpass API extract fetched 2026-10-24T20:04:49.917Z. 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, 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. Glas Leathad Mor (Ben Wyvis) is hill 1088 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.