Number 75 of 282 by height · West Highlands
Na Gruagaichean
3,459 ft (1,054 m)
Facts
- Grid reference
- NN 203 652
- Latitude, longitude
- 56.74370, -4.93989
- Area
- West Highlands
The walk up
- Distance, one way
- 4.6 mi (7.4 km)
- Climb
- 3,481 ft (1,061 m)
- Estimated time up
- 3 h 15 min
- Start
- Car park near Kinlochleven
Route picked by computer, not yet checked on the hill
Summit conditions
From Sunday 1 November, 17:07. Not live.
- Weather
- Clear sky
- Temperature
- 36°F (2°C)
- Wind chill
- 32°F (0°C)
- Wind
- 4 mph (7 km/h) from the northwest
- Cloud cover
- 12%
- Rain or snow, next hour
- None
- Freezing level, rough estimate
- 4,518 ft (1,377 m)
- Sunrise, sunset
- 07:28, 16:38
The way up
From Car park near Kinlochleven, follow the road north-east for 1.1 mi, climbing steadily from 110 ft to 730 ft. On the way you cross the Allt Coire an Eich. Then follow the track north for 0.6 mi, climbing gently from 730 ft to 850 ft. On the way you cross the Allt Coire na Bà. Then follow the path north for 0.7 mi, climbing steeply from 850 ft to 1,450 ft. It then turns east for 0.6 mi, climbing steeply from 1,450 ft to 2,150 ft. It then turns north-west for 0.5 mi, climbing steadily from 2,150 ft to 2,400 ft. It then turns east for the last 0.8 mi to the summit, climbing steeply from 2,400 ft to 3,450 ft. On the way you go over Na Gruagaichean North West Top (3,400 ft). The steepest part is between 2,500 ft and 3,300 ft, about 3.6 mi from the start. The summit is at 3,459 ft (1,054 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 Kinlochleven. Parking charge not known. This is where the walking route starts.
Driving directions to the Na Gruagaichean car park56.71682,-4.98293
By train
Nearest station: Fort William, 8.5 mi (14 km) from the car park.
By bus
Nearest bus stop on the map: Post Office, 0.6 mi (1.0 km) from the car park. Check the times first: many Highland buses run only a few times a day.
Near the start
- Pub: Bothy Bar 0.4 mi (0.7 km)
- Campsite: MacDonald Hotel Campsite 0.4 mi (0.7 km)
- Campsite: Kinlochleven Wild Camping Area 0.5 mi (0.8 km)
- Place to eat: Tailrace Inn 0.7 mi (1.2 km)
- Shop: Co-op Food 0.8 mi (1.2 km)
- Place to eat: Highland Getaway Inn 0.8 mi (1.2 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 Na Gruagaichean
- Means
- The maidens
Na Gruagaichean is a Mamores Munro of 3,459 ft (1,054 m), about 2.5 miles north-north-east of Kinlochleven, between the village and Glen Nevis. It is double topped where three ridges meet, and the south top is the higher, so that is the true summit, marked by a cairn. The summit is stony and craggy in places, with views to Ben Nevis and Binnein Mòr.
The narrow north-east ridge runs over a minor top to Binnein Mòr, the nearest higher Munro at 0.9 miles, and the narrow west-north-west ridge leads to Stob Coire a' Chàirn. The south ridge ends in steep slopes above Kinlochleven. The hill rises 318 ft (97 m) above the col linking it to higher ground.
The folktale behind the name tells of an ageing Callart hunter whose old greyhound could no longer catch the deer. Two maidens met him in a glen between two mountains and gave him a new hound called Brodum, and he told his household to call those mountains the Maidens from then on.
Tops on Na Gruagaichean
One lower summit in the Munro tables, not counted as separate Munros. Keen baggers tick these too.
| Top | Height | From the summit |
|---|---|---|
| Na Gruagaichean NW TopNN 201 654 | 3,408 ft (1,039 m) | 0.2 mi (0.3 km) |
Through the year
Hours of daylight on Na Gruagaichean 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Binnein Mor | 3,707 ft (1,130 m) | 0.9 mi (1.5 km) |
| Stob Coire a' Chairn | 3,219 ft (981 m) | 1.2 mi (1.9 km) |
| An Gearanach | 3,220 ft (982 m) | 1.5 mi (2.4 km) |
Part of a bigger day: 6 Munros in one go, Am Bodach, An Gearanach, Stob Coire a' Chairn, Binnein Mor, Binnein Beag.
Common questions about Na Gruagaichean
- How high is Na Gruagaichean?
- Na Gruagaichean is 3,459 ft (1,054 m), number 75 of the 282 Munros by height, in the West Highlands.
- How long does it take to climb Na Gruagaichean?
- About 3 h 15 min up and 1 h 35 min back down by our route from Car park near Kinlochleven, before stops: 4.6 mi (7.4 km) each way with 3,481 ft (1,061 m) of climbing. That is about average for a Munro. Most people take longer than these estimates.
- Where do you park for Na Gruagaichean?
- Our route starts at Car park near Kinlochleven.
- Can you climb Na Gruagaichean without a car?
- The nearest railway station is Fort William, 8.5 mi (14 km) from the start, and the nearest bus stop on the map is Post Office, 0.6 mi (1.0 km) from the start. Highland trains and buses are few, so check times on Traveline Scotland before you go.
- Is Na Gruagaichean a hard Munro?
- By time and climbing, it is about average for a Munro, with 3,481 ft (1,061 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.
- Can you climb other Munros with Na Gruagaichean?
- Yes. Na Gruagaichean can be linked with Am Bodach, An Gearanach, Stob Coire a' Chairn, Binnein Mor, Binnein Beag along the ridge, for 6 Munros in one long day. See Big days for the full plan.
- What does Na Gruagaichean mean?
- It is usually translated as "the maidens".
- When is the best time to climb Na Gruagaichean?
- 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 West Highlands before you go.
Questions
Where can I get a proper mountain forecast?
Read the Mountain Weather Information Service forecast for the West 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 2026-10-24T19:57:37.957Z. Start: the public car park nearest the usual start named on Wikipedia (Kinlochleven, found by "Kinlochleven" on OpenStreetMap) with the shortest mapped-path route to the summit.
- 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 15 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. Na Gruagaichean is hill 301 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.