Number 90 of 282 by height · Southeastern Highlands
Meall nan Tarmachan
3,424 ft (1,044 m)
Facts
- Grid reference
- NN 585 389
- Latitude, longitude
- 56.52167, -4.30136
- Area
- Southeastern Highlands
The walk up
- Distance, one way
- 2.2 mi (3.5 km)
- Climb
- 1,932 ft (589 m)
- Estimated time up
- 1 h 40 min
- Start
- Car park near Rynachulig
Route picked by computer, not yet checked on the hill
Summit conditions
From Sunday 1 November, 17:07. Not live.
- Weather
- Cloudy
- Temperature
- 37°F (3°C)
- Wind chill
- 33°F (0°C)
- Wind
- 5 mph (8 km/h) from the northwest
- Cloud cover
- 100%
- Rain or snow, next hour
- None
- Freezing level, rough estimate
- 4,685 ft (1,428 m)
- Sunrise, sunset
- 07:25, 16:36
The way up
From Car park near Rynachulig, follow the path south-west for 0.7 mi, climbing steadily from 1,500 ft to 1,950 ft. It then turns north-west for 0.5 mi, climbing steeply from 1,950 ft to 2,600 ft. It then turns north-west for the last 0.8 mi to the summit, climbing steeply from 2,600 ft to 3,400 ft. The steepest part is between 2,150 ft and 2,850 ft, about 0.8 mi from the start. The summit is at 3,424 ft (1,044 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 Rynachulig. Free to park. This is where the walking route starts.
Driving directions to the Meall nan Tarmachan car park56.51550,-4.27109
By train
Nearest station: Crianlarich, 16 mi (25 km) from the car park. Too far to walk in from.
By bus
Nearest bus stop on the map: Station Road Turning Circle, 3.6 mi (5.7 km) from the car park. Check the times first: many Highland buses run only a few times a day.
Near the start
- Campsite: Cruachan Farm Caravan and Camping Park 1.6 mi (2.5 km)
- Place to eat: The Boathouse 1.8 mi (2.9 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 Meall nan Tarmachan
- Means
- Mound of the ptarmigans
- Say it
- MYOWL nun TAR-a-mach-an
Meall nan Tarmachan rises near Killin, just west of Ben Lawers, and is the highest point of the Tarmachan ridge. The ridge runs south-west from it over three lower summits: Meall Garbh, 3,366 ft (1,026 m), and Beinn nan Eachan, 3,281 ft (1,000 m), both listed as tops, then Creag na Caillich. That last one was once listed too, but at 914 m it falls just short of 3,000 ft.
The hill rises 1,622 ft (494 m) above the col linking it to higher ground, and its nearest higher neighbour is Meall Corranaich, 2.3 miles away. Its third listed top is Meall nan Tarmachan SE Top.
The slopes of Creag na Caillich hold a Neolithic stone axe workshop, a rare kind of site in the UK. From 1951 to 1961 an aerial cableway on the south-east shoulder carried stone quarried in Coire Fionn Lairige down to build the Lawers Dam. Broken rails and pylon fragments still lie across the hillside. A cairn marks the summit.
Tops on Meall nan Tarmachan
3 lower summits in the Munro tables, not counted as separate Munros. Keen baggers tick these too.
| Top | Height | From the summit |
|---|---|---|
| Meall GarbhNN 578 383 | 3,368 ft (1,027 m) | 0.6 mi (0.9 km) |
| Beinn nan EachanNN 570 383 | 3,281 ft (1,000 m) | 1.0 mi (1.6 km) |
| Meall nan Tarmachan SE TopNN 589 385 | 3,024 ft (922 m) | 0.4 mi (0.6 km) |
Through the year
Hours of daylight on Meall nan Tarmachan 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Meall Corranaich | 3,507 ft (1,069 m) | 2.3 mi (3.6 km) |
| Beinn Ghlas | 3,619 ft (1,103 m) | 2.6 mi (4.3 km) |
| Ben Lawers | 3,983 ft (1,214 m) | 3.5 mi (5.6 km) |
Common questions about Meall nan Tarmachan
- How high is Meall nan Tarmachan?
- Meall nan Tarmachan is 3,424 ft (1,044 m), number 90 of the 282 Munros by height, in the Southeastern Highlands.
- How long does it take to climb Meall nan Tarmachan?
- About 1 h 40 min up and 45 min back down by our route from Car park near Rynachulig, before stops: 2.2 mi (3.5 km) each way with 1,932 ft (589 m) of climbing. That is one of the quicker Munros to climb. Most people take longer than these estimates.
- Where do you park for Meall nan Tarmachan?
- Our route starts at Car park near Rynachulig. It is free to park.
- Can you climb Meall nan Tarmachan without a car?
- The nearest railway station is Crianlarich, 16 mi (25 km) from the start, and the nearest bus stop on the map is Station Road Turning Circle, 3.6 mi (5.7 km) from the start. Highland trains and buses are few, so check times on Traveline Scotland before you go.
- Is Meall nan Tarmachan a hard Munro?
- By time and climbing, it is one of the quicker Munros to climb, with 1,932 ft (589 m) of ascent over 2.2 mi (3.5 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 Meall nan Tarmachan mean?
- It is usually translated as "mound of the ptarmigans".
- When is the best time to climb Meall nan Tarmachan?
- 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 2026-10-24T19:57:04.412Z. 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 1 h 40 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. Meall nan Tarmachan is hill 149 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.