Every Munro

Number 187 of 282 by height · West Highlands

Sgorr nam Fiannaidh (Aonach Eagach)

3,175 ft (968 m)

See it on the 3D map

Facts

Grid reference
NN 140 583
Latitude, longitude
56.67939, -5.03714
Area
West Highlands

The walk up

Distance, one way
2.5 mi (4.0 km)
Climb
3,123 ft (952 m)
Estimated time up
2 h 25 min
Start
Car park near Glencoe

Route picked by computer, not yet checked on the hill

Walk the route in 3D

Drag to move around. Hold Ctrl and drag to tilt and turn. Solid line: the route. Dotted: other paths.

Summit conditions

From Sunday 1 November, 17:07. Not live.

Weather
Clear sky
Temperature
36°F (2°C)
Wind chill
33°F (0°C)
Wind
4 mph (6 km/h) from the northwest
Cloud cover
13%
Rain or snow, next hour
None
Freezing level, rough estimate
4,285 ft (1,306 m)
Sunrise, sunset
07:28, 16:38

Sgorr nam Fiannaidh (Aonach Eagach) weather: the forecast page

The way up

From Car park near Glencoe, follow the path east all the way to the summit, 2.4 mi, climbing steeply from 80 ft to 3,150 ft. The steepest part is between 1,800 ft and 2,850 ft, about 1.4 mi from the start. The summit is at 3,175 ft (968 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 Glencoe. Free to park. This is where the walking route starts.

By train

Nearest station: Fort William, 9.6 mi (15 km) from the car park.

By bus

Nearest bus stop on the map: Glencoe Hotel, 0.6 mi (0.9 km) from the car park. Check the times first: many Highland buses run only a few times a day.

Near the start

  • Café: Glencoe Farm Shop and Café 0.4 mi (0.6 km)
  • Place to eat: Moss 0.5 mi (0.8 km)
  • Toilets 0.6 mi (0.9 km)
  • Place to eat: Glencoe Gathering 0.6 mi (0.9 km)
  • Campsite: Invercoe Caravan & Camping Park 0.7 mi (1.1 km)
  • Café: Crafts & Things 0.8 mi (1.2 km)

From OpenStreetMap. Places close or change hours, especially in winter, so check before you rely on one.

About Sgorr nam Fiannaidh (Aonach Eagach)

Sgorr nam Fiannaidh is the higher of the two Munros on the Aonach Eagach, the rocky ridge that forms the northern wall of Glen Coe and runs east to west for several miles. Its partner, Meall Dearg, is 1.3 miles along the crest. The ridge calls for scrambling ability, and the slopes on both sides are treacherous: grass and scree give way to steeper ground that ends in cliffs to north and south. Stob Coire Leith is listed as a top.

The ridge has a long record of fatal accidents, several of them in the Clachaig Gully at its western end, and in August 2023 two climbers and their guide were killed on the traverse.

The summit is marked by the remains of a trig point. It rises 2,044 ft (623 m) above the col linking it to higher ground.

Tops on Sgorr nam Fiannaidh (Aonach Eagach)

One lower summit in the Munro tables, not counted as separate Munros. Keen baggers tick these too.

Munro Tops on Sgorr nam Fiannaidh (Aonach Eagach)
TopHeightFrom the summit
Stob Coire LeithNN 149 5843,082 ft (940 m)0.6 mi (0.9 km)

Through the year

Hours of daylight on Sgorr nam Fiannaidh (Aonach Eagach) 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

Nearest Munros to Sgorr nam Fiannaidh (Aonach Eagach), by straight-line distance
MunroHeightStraight-line distance
Meall Dearg (Aonach Eagach) 3,124 ft (952 m) 1.3 mi (2.1 km)
Bidean nam Bian 3,771 ft (1,149 m) 2.5 mi (4.1 km)
Stob Coire Sgreamhach 3,517 ft (1,072 m) 3.0 mi (4.9 km)

Common questions about Sgorr nam Fiannaidh (Aonach Eagach)

How high is Sgorr nam Fiannaidh (Aonach Eagach)?
Sgorr nam Fiannaidh (Aonach Eagach) is 3,175 ft (968 m), number 187 of the 282 Munros by height, in the West Highlands.
How long does it take to climb Sgorr nam Fiannaidh (Aonach Eagach)?
About 2 h 25 min up and 50 min back down by our route from Car park near Glencoe, before stops: 2.5 mi (4.0 km) each way with 3,123 ft (952 m) of climbing. That is one of the quicker Munros to climb. Most people take longer than these estimates.
Where do you park for Sgorr nam Fiannaidh (Aonach Eagach)?
Our route starts at Car park near Glencoe. It is free to park.
Can you climb Sgorr nam Fiannaidh (Aonach Eagach) without a car?
The nearest railway station is Fort William, 9.6 mi (15 km) from the start, and the nearest bus stop on the map is Glencoe Hotel, 0.6 mi (0.9 km) from the start. Highland trains and buses are few, so check times on Traveline Scotland before you go.
Is Sgorr nam Fiannaidh (Aonach Eagach) a hard Munro?
By time and climbing, it is one of the quicker Munros to climb, with 3,123 ft (952 m) of ascent over 2.5 mi (4.0 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 Sgorr nam Fiannaidh (Aonach Eagach)?
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 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. Sgorr nam Fiannaidh (Aonach Eagach) is hill 178 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.