Number 160 of 282 by height · Northwest Highlands
Lurg Mhor
Lurg Mhòr
3,238 ft (987 m)
Facts
- Grid reference
- NH 064 404
- Latitude, longitude
- 57.41311, -5.22367
- Area
- Northwest Highlands
The walk up
- Distance, one way
- 11 mi (18 km)
- Climb
- 3,835 ft (1,169 m)
- Estimated time up
- 5 h 35 min
- Start
- Car park by Attadale station
Route picked by computer, not yet checked on the hill
Summit conditions
From Sunday 1 November, 20:25. Not live.
- Weather
- Fair
- Temperature
- 34°F (1°C)
- Wind
- 3 mph (4 km/h) from the southwest
- Cloud cover
- 31%
- Rain or snow, next hour
- None
- Freezing level, rough estimate
- 3,845 ft (1,172 m)
- Sunrise, sunset
- 07:31, 16:37
The way up
From Car park by Attadale station, follow the road south-east for 0.8 mi, almost level. On the way you cross the Allt Creag a' Chroicinn. Then follow the track south-east for 1.8 mi, climbing gently from 80 ft to 650 ft. On the way you cross the River Attadale by a bridge, the Alltan Odhar and the Eas an Lagain. It then turns east for 6.6 mi, almost level. On the way you pass Loch an Droighinn on your right and Loch na Caillich on your right and cross the Uisge Dhubh (Black Water). Then follow the path north-east for 0.9 mi, climbing steeply from 1,150 ft to 2,300 ft. It then turns east for the last 0.9 mi to the summit, climbing steeply from 2,300 ft to 3,250 ft. The steepest part is between 1,200 ft and 2,000 ft, about 9.3 mi from the start. The summit is at 3,238 ft (987 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 by Attadale station. Parking charge not known. This is where the walking route starts.
Driving directions to the Lurg Mhor car park57.39266,-5.45007
By train
Nearest station: Attadale, right by the car park.
By bus
Nearest bus stop on the map: Post Office, 1.5 mi (2.4 km) from the car park. Check the times first: many Highland buses run only a few times a day.
Near the start
- Toilets 0.2 mi (0.3 km)
- Place to eat: Carron Restaurant 1.2 mi (2.0 km)
- Pub: Lochcarron Hotel 1.4 mi (2.2 km)
- Toilets 1.4 mi (2.2 km)
- Pub: Rockvilla Hotel 1.4 mi (2.3 km)
- Campsite: The Wee Campsite 1.5 mi (2.5 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 Lurg Mhor
- In Gaelic
- Lurg Mhòr
Lurg Mhor is the high point of a remote east-west chain of hills between Glen Carron to the north and Glen Shiel to the south. It sits west of Loch Monar, one of a horseshoe of Munros around the loch, and east of the Attadale Forest. Its west ridge curls north and rises to Bidein a' Choire Sheasgaich, 1.1 miles away. To the east a long, fairly level ridge runs out to the top of Meall Mor, 3,196 ft (974 m), with steep cliffs on its north side and gentle grassy slopes to the south, before dropping to Loch Monar at Pait Lodge.
The rock is part of the Glenfinnan Group of the Loch Ness Supergroup, ancient sandstone heavily altered by heat and pressure. A quartzite crag on the north side of the west ridge has several rock climbs, two graded Very Severe.
Lurg Mhor rises 1,453 ft (443 m) above the col linking it to higher ground. The summit cairn sits on a rock outcrop, 20 to 30 cm higher than a rock about 40 m west-north-west.
Tops on Lurg Mhor
One lower summit in the Munro tables, not counted as separate Munros. Keen baggers tick these too.
| Top | Height | From the summit |
|---|---|---|
| Meall MorNH 072 405 | 3,196 ft (974 m) | 0.5 mi (0.7 km) |
Through the year
Hours of daylight on Lurg 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Bidein a' Choire Sheasgaich | 3,100 ft (945 m) | 1.1 mi (1.8 km) |
| Sgurr Choinnich | 3,279 ft (999 m) | 2.7 mi (4.3 km) |
| Sgurr a' Chaorachain | 3,455 ft (1,053 m) | 3.0 mi (4.8 km) |
Common questions about Lurg Mhor
- How high is Lurg Mhor?
- Lurg Mhor is 3,238 ft (987 m), number 160 of the 282 Munros by height, in the Northwest Highlands.
- How long does it take to climb Lurg Mhor?
- About 5 h 35 min up and 4 h back down by our route from Car park by Attadale station, before stops: 11 mi (18 km) each way with 3,835 ft (1,169 m) of climbing. That is one of the longer Munro days. Most people take longer than these estimates.
- Where do you park for Lurg Mhor?
- Our route starts at Car park by Attadale station.
- Can you climb Lurg Mhor without a car?
- The nearest railway station is Attadale, right by the start, and the nearest bus stop on the map is Post Office, 1.5 mi (2.4 km) from the start. Highland trains and buses are few, so check times on Traveline Scotland before you go.
- Is Lurg 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 Lurg 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 1.9 mi of the path is graded alpine hiking (T4) in OpenStreetMap: expect scrambling or exposed ground.
- Long walk-in: 11.3 mi one way.
- 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 5 h 35 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. Lurg Mhor is hill 896 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.