Number 166 of 282 by height · Northwest Highlands
Mullach na Dheiragain
Mullach an Deargain
3,222 ft (982 m)
Facts
- Grid reference
- NH 080 259
- Latitude, longitude
- 57.28342, -5.18635
- Area
- Northwest Highlands
The walk up
- Distance, one way
- 12 mi (19 km)
- Climb
- 4,439 ft (1,353 m)
- Estimated time up
- 6 h 10 min
- Start
- Car park near Cluanie Lodge
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 west
- Cloud cover
- 34%
- Rain or snow, next hour
- None
- Freezing level, rough estimate
- 3,878 ft (1,182 m)
- Sunrise, sunset
- 07:31, 16:37
The way up
From Car park near Cluanie Lodge, follow the track north-west for 2.0 mi, climbing gently from 730 ft to 1,150 ft. On the way you pass Loch Cluanie on your right and cross the Allt a' Bhruic. Then follow the path north for 2.9 mi, dropping from 1,150 ft to 960 ft. On the way you ford a burn, cross the Allt Coire a' Ghlas-thuill and reach the bealach of Bealach Allt a' Chaorainn Mhoir. Then follow the track north-east for 0.6 mi, almost level. On the way you cross the River Affric by a ford. Then follow the path north for 1.7 mi, climbing steeply from 860 ft to 2,400 ft. On the way you ford a burn and a burn. It then turns north-west for 0.5 mi, climbing steeply from 2,400 ft to 2,950 ft. On the way you go over Stob Coire na Cloiche (3,000 ft). It then turns west for 0.9 mi, climbing gently from 2,950 ft to 3,200 ft. It then turns north-west for 0.5 mi, climbing gently from 3,200 ft to 3,300 ft. On the way you go over Sgùrr nan Ceathreamhnan (3,800 ft). It then turns north-east for the last 2.3 mi to the summit, almost level. On the way you go over Carn na Con Dhu (3,150 ft). The steepest part is between 3,150 ft and 3,700 ft, about 8.5 mi from the start. The summit is at 3,222 ft (982 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 Cluanie Lodge. Parking charge not known. This is where the walking route starts.
Driving directions to the Mullach na Dheiragain car park57.15981,-5.15813
By train
Nearest station: Attadale, 20 mi (32 km) from the car park. Too far to walk in from.
By bus
Nearest bus stop on the map: Inn, 1.0 mi (1.5 km) from the car park. Check the times first: many Highland buses run only a few times a day.
Near the start
- Place to eat: Cluanie Inn 0.9 mi (1.5 km)
- Café: Landour Bakehouse 0.9 mi (1.5 km)
- Toilets 0.9 mi (1.5 km)
- Toilets 0.9 mi (1.5 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 Mullach na Dheiragain
- In Gaelic
- Mullach an Deargain
Mullach na Dheiragain is a Highland Munro of 3,222 ft (982 m), ranked 166th of the 282 by height. Its nearest higher neighbour is Sgurr nan Ceathramhnan, 2.4 miles away, and it rises 472 ft (144 m) above the col that links it to higher ground. An Socach (1.9 miles) and Mam Sodhail (2.5 miles) are the other Munros close by. Two tops, Mullach Sithidh and Carn na Con Dhu, are listed on its ground.
A cairn marks the summit, though ground about 25 m north-north-west is just as high.
Tops on Mullach na Dheiragain
2 lower summits in the Munro tables, not counted as separate Munros. Keen baggers tick these too.
| Top | Height | From the summit |
|---|---|---|
| Mullach SithidhNH 082 264 | 3,196 ft (974 m) | 0.3 mi (0.5 km) |
| Carn na Con DhuNH 072 241 | 3,173 ft (967 m) | 1.2 mi (1.9 km) |
Through the year
Hours of daylight on Mullach na Dheiragain 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 |
|---|---|---|
| An Socach | 3,017 ft (920 m) | 1.9 mi (3.0 km) |
| Sgurr nan Ceathramhnan | 3,776 ft (1,151 m) | 2.4 mi (3.9 km) |
| Mam Sodhail | 3,869 ft (1,179 m) | 2.5 mi (4.0 km) |
Common questions about Mullach na Dheiragain
- How high is Mullach na Dheiragain?
- Mullach na Dheiragain is 3,222 ft (982 m), number 166 of the 282 Munros by height, in the Northwest Highlands.
- How long does it take to climb Mullach na Dheiragain?
- About 6 h 10 min up and 4 h 55 min back down by our route from Car park near Cluanie Lodge, before stops: 12 mi (19 km) each way with 4,439 ft (1,353 m) of climbing. That is one of the longer Munro days. Most people take longer than these estimates.
- Where do you park for Mullach na Dheiragain?
- Our route starts at Car park near Cluanie Lodge.
- Can you climb Mullach na Dheiragain without a car?
- The nearest railway station is Attadale, 20 mi (32 km) from the start, and the nearest bus stop on the map is Inn, 1.0 mi (1.5 km) from the start. Highland trains and buses are few, so check times on Traveline Scotland before you go.
- Is Mullach na Dheiragain a hard Munro?
- By time and climbing, it is one of the longer Munro days, with 4,439 ft (1,353 m) of ascent over 12 mi (19 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 na Dheiragain?
- 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.
- Drops 1,981 ft on the way up, so it may cross another top or a bealach first.
- Climbs to about 3,707 ft on the way, higher than this summit (3,222 ft), so it crosses a bigger hill first.
- Long walk-in: 12.0 mi one way.
- Goes over Sgurr nan Ceathramhnan on the 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 6 h 10 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.
Where do the height and grid reference come from?
From the Database of British and Irish Hills, the surveyed list most baggers use. Mullach na Dheiragain is hill 833 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.