Scotland
Aonach Beag
1116M
3661FT
About Aonach Beag
Tucked away in the remote wilds of the Alder Forest, this high Munro offers a profound sense of isolation. Usually tackled as part of a long traverse from Culra, its broad, grassy slopes lead to a spacious summit plateau that feels significantly more Alpine than its "small ridge" name implies.
Key Statistics
Rank
15th Highest in Region
Parent Range
Data coming soon
Prominence
?
99
Nearest Town
Data coming soon
Geology
You are walking over layers of mud and sand transformed into hardened, layered rocks. These slopes feature durable quartzite and rare, lime-rich stones.
Find It
OS Grid Reference
NN457741
Latitude
56.8335°N
Longitude
4.5292°W
Did You Know?
- •The name is Scottish Gaelic, where 'Aonach' refers to a high ridge or moor and 'Beag' means small. This smallness is purely relative to its bulkier neighbour, Geal-Chàrn; at 1,116 metres, it remains one of the highest points in the central Highlands.
- •This is one of the most distant Munros from a public road. Most walkers choose to cycle the 15 kilometres along the banks of Loch Ericht from Dalwhinnie to reach the base of the mountain near the old Culra Bothy site before beginning the ascent.
- •It is most frequently climbed as the second peak in a high-level traverse of four Munros, situated on a lofty line between the massive Geal-Chàrn and the sharper-crested Beinn Èibhinn.
- •The summit provides a commanding perspective of the Great Moss (Am Màm) and the sheer, dark cliffs of Ben Alder to the south, while the distant, jagged skyline of the Glencoe hills is clearly visible to the west on a high-pressure day.
- •After the long trek from Dalwhinnie, most hikers find that the Gaelic word for 'small' doesn't quite match the physical effort required to actually stand on the cairn.