Number 108 of 282 by height · Northwest Highlands
Mullach an Rathain (Liathach)
3,359 ft (1,024 m)
Facts
- Grid reference
- NG 911 576
- Latitude, longitude
- 57.56090, -5.49250
- Area
- Northwest Highlands
The walk up
- Distance, one way
- 2.4 mi (3.9 km)
- Climb
- 3,235 ft (986 m)
- Estimated time up
- 2 h 25 min
- Start
- Car park near Torridon
Route picked by computer, not yet checked on the hill
Summit conditions
From Sunday 1 November, 20:25. Not live.
- Weather
- Fair
- Temperature
- 35°F (2°C)
- Wind
- 3 mph (5 km/h) from the southwest
- Cloud cover
- 32%
- Rain or snow, next hour
- None
- Freezing level, rough estimate
- 4,167 ft (1,270 m)
- Sunrise, sunset
- 07:33, 16:37
The way up
From Car park near Torridon, follow the road east for 0.5 mi, almost level. Then follow the path north for the last 1.7 mi to the summit, climbing very steeply from 80 ft to 3,350 ft. The steepest part is between 2,100 ft and 3,300 ft, about 1.8 mi from the start. The summit is at 3,359 ft (1,024 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 Torridon. Parking charge not known. This is where the walking route starts.
Driving directions to the Mullach an Rathain (Liathach) car park57.54303,-5.50173
By train
Nearest station: Achnashellach, 7.5 mi (12 km) from the car park.
By bus
Nearest bus stop on the map: Tourist Information Centre, right by the car park. Check the times first: many Highland buses run only a few times a day.
Near the start
- Campsite: Torridon Camp Site by the start
- Toilets by the start
- Hostel: Torridon Youth Hostel 0.1 mi (0.2 km)
- Café: The Wee Whistle Stop 0.3 mi (0.6 km)
- Shop: General Store 0.7 mi (1.1 km)
- Café: Torridon Stores and Café 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 Mullach an Rathain (Liathach)
Mullach an Rathain is the western of the two Munros on Liathach, a long east-west ridge in the Torridon hills between Loch Torridon and Beinn Eighe. Its higher partner, Spidean a' Choire Leith, is 1.1 miles away. The mountain is built of near-flat beds of Torridonian sandstone, red and chocolate in colour, which form the stepped rocky terraces of its upper half, resting on far older Lewisian gneiss.
The ridge between the two Munros is a line of rocky pinnacles called Am Fasarinen, which has a top of 3,041 ft (927 m) at its western end. North from Mullach an Rathain run the Northern Pinnacles, first climbed in 1894 by Hinxman, Rennie and Douglas, ending at Meall Dearg, 3,133 ft (955 m). There are few ways off the ridge once you are on it, and in winter it is a serious undertaking.
Mullach an Rathain rises 499 ft (152 m) above the col linking it to higher ground. The summit is a rock outcrop beside the cairn.
Tops on Mullach an Rathain (Liathach)
2 lower summits in the Munro tables, not counted as separate Munros. Keen baggers tick these too.
| Top | Height | From the summit |
|---|---|---|
| Meall Dearg [Northern Pinnacles]NG 913 579 | 3,133 ft (955 m) | 0.2 mi (0.3 km) |
| Am FasarinenNG 923 574 | 3,047 ft (929 m) | 0.7 mi (1.2 km) |
Through the year
Hours of daylight on Mullach an Rathain (Liathach) 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Spidean a' Choire Leith (Liathach) | 3,461 ft (1,055 m) | 1.1 mi (1.8 km) |
| Ruadh-stac Mor (Beinn Eighe) | 3,314 ft (1,010 m) | 3.3 mi (5.2 km) |
| Tom na Gruagaich (Beinn Alligin) | 3,025 ft (922 m) | 3.6 mi (5.8 km) |
Common questions about Mullach an Rathain (Liathach)
- How high is Mullach an Rathain (Liathach)?
- Mullach an Rathain (Liathach) is 3,359 ft (1,024 m), number 108 of the 282 Munros by height, in the Northwest Highlands.
- How long does it take to climb Mullach an Rathain (Liathach)?
- About 2 h 25 min up and 45 min back down by our route from Car park near Torridon, before stops: 2.4 mi (3.9 km) each way with 3,235 ft (986 m) of climbing. That is about average for a Munro. Most people take longer than these estimates.
- Where do you park for Mullach an Rathain (Liathach)?
- Our route starts at Car park near Torridon.
- Can you climb Mullach an Rathain (Liathach) without a car?
- The nearest railway station is Achnashellach, 7.5 mi (12 km) from the start, and the nearest bus stop on the map is Tourist Information Centre, 0.0 mi (0.0 km) from the start. Highland trains and buses are few, so check times on Traveline Scotland before you go.
- Is Mullach an Rathain (Liathach) a hard Munro?
- By time and climbing, it is about average for a Munro, with 3,235 ft (986 m) of ascent over 2.4 mi (3.9 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.
- When is the best time to climb Mullach an Rathain (Liathach)?
- 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 0.5 mi along a main road before the path starts.
- Path geometry: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Overpass API extract fetched 2026-10-24T20:04:01.699Z. 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 25 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. Mullach an Rathain (Liathach) is hill 954 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.