Number 43 of 282 by height · Northwest Highlands
Sgurr nan Conbhairean
Sgùrr nan Conbhairean
3,638 ft (1,109 m)
Facts
- Grid reference
- NH 129 138
- Latitude, longitude
- 57.17764, -5.09541
- Area
- Northwest Highlands
The walk up
- Distance, one way
- 3.1 mi (4.9 km)
- Climb
- 2,972 ft (906 m)
- Estimated time up
- 2 h 30 min
- Start
- Car park near Cluanie Lodge
Route picked by computer, not yet checked on the hill
Summit conditions
From Sunday 1 November, 17:07. Not live.
- Weather
- Fair
- Temperature
- 32°F (0°C)
- Wind chill
- 28°F (−2°C)
- Wind
- 4 mph (7 km/h) from the northwest
- Cloud cover
- 15%
- Rain or snow, next hour
- None
- Freezing level, rough estimate
- 3,638 ft (1,109 m)
- Sunrise, sunset
- 07:30, 16:37
The way up
From Car park near Cluanie Lodge, follow the path north-east for 0.5 mi, climbing steeply from 730 ft to 1,150 ft. On the way you pass Loch Cluanie on your right. It then turns north-west for 1.2 mi, climbing steeply from 1,150 ft to 2,750 ft. It then turns north-east for the last 1.2 mi to the summit, climbing steadily from 2,750 ft to 3,650 ft. On the way you pass Gorm Lochan on your right. The steepest part is between 1,150 ft and 2,150 ft, about 0.5 mi from the start. The summit is at 3,638 ft (1,109 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 Sgurr nan Conbhairean car park57.14690,-5.10250
By train
Nearest station: Spean Bridge, 19 mi (31 km) from the car park. Too far to walk in from.
By bus
Nearest bus stop on the map: Inn, 3.1 mi (5.0 km) from the car park. Check the times first: many Highland buses run only a few times a day.
Public transport directionsBus and train times on Traveline Scotland
About Sgurr nan Conbhairean
- In Gaelic
- Sgùrr nan Conbhairean
- Means
- Peak of the dog-men
Sgùrr nan Conbhairean is a dome-shaped hill north of Loch Cluanie and south of Glen Affric. It forms a group of three Munros with A' Chràlaig and Mullach Fraoch-choire, and Sail Chaorainn (1 mile) and Carn Ghluasaid (1.3 miles) are also close by. Two tops, Drochaid an Tuill Easaich and Creag a' Chaorainn, are listed with it.
It rises 1,253 ft (382 m) above the col that links it to higher ground, making it a Marilyn, and the nearest higher Munro, A' Chraileag, is 2.3 miles away. The highest point is the ground between a large cairn and a small wind shelter.
Tops on Sgurr nan Conbhairean
2 lower summits in the Munro tables, not counted as separate Munros. Keen baggers tick these too.
| Top | Height | From the summit |
|---|---|---|
| Drochaid an Tuill EasaichNH 120 134 | 3,276 ft (999 m) | 0.6 mi (1.0 km) |
| Creag a' ChaorainnNH 137 131 | 3,274 ft (998 m) | 0.6 mi (1.0 km) |
Through the year
Hours of daylight on Sgurr nan Conbhairean 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sail Chaorainn | 3,278 ft (999 m) | 1.0 mi (1.6 km) |
| Carn Ghluasaid | 3,140 ft (957 m) | 1.3 mi (2.1 km) |
| A' Chraileag | 3,675 ft (1,120 m) | 2.3 mi (3.7 km) |
Common questions about Sgurr nan Conbhairean
- How high is Sgurr nan Conbhairean?
- Sgurr nan Conbhairean is 3,638 ft (1,109 m), number 43 of the 282 Munros by height, in the Northwest Highlands.
- How long does it take to climb Sgurr nan Conbhairean?
- About 2 h 30 min up and 1 h back down by our route from Car park near Cluanie Lodge, before stops: 3.1 mi (4.9 km) each way with 2,972 ft (906 m) of climbing. That is about average for a Munro. Most people take longer than these estimates.
- Where do you park for Sgurr nan Conbhairean?
- Our route starts at Car park near Cluanie Lodge.
- Can you climb Sgurr nan Conbhairean without a car?
- The nearest railway station is Spean Bridge, 19 mi (31 km) from the start, and the nearest bus stop on the map is Inn, 3.1 mi (5.0 km) from the start. Highland trains and buses are few, so check times on Traveline Scotland before you go.
- Is Sgurr nan Conbhairean a hard Munro?
- By time and climbing, it is about average for a Munro, with 2,972 ft (906 m) of ascent over 3.1 mi (4.9 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.
- What does Sgurr nan Conbhairean mean?
- In Gaelic it is Sgùrr nan Conbhairean. It is usually translated as "peak of the dog-men".
- When is the best time to climb Sgurr nan Conbhairean?
- 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.
- 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 2 h 30 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. Sgurr nan Conbhairean is hill 863 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.