Saileag

About Saileag

Rising above the northern side of Glen Shiel, this rounded Munro marks the eastern gateway to the celebrated Five Sisters of Kintail. While often considered the gentlest of the ridge's summits, its grassy slopes offer a steady, rhythmic climb leading to a spacious plateau with commanding views over the deep glacial trench below.

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Did You Know?

• •Derived from the Gaelic word sàil, the name translates as 'little heel.' This likely describes its physical relationship to the main ridge of the Five Sisters, acting as a rounded spur or heel at the eastern end of the massif.
• •This Munro is almost always climbed as the first peak in a traverse of the Five Sisters of Kintail. Starting from the Bealach an Lapain, it sets the high-level tone for the four-mile ridge walk toward Sgùrr Fhuaran.
• •The summit offers an exceptional perspective on the North West Highlands' topography, specifically looking across Glen Shiel to the jagged silhouette of the Forcan Ridge on the South Shiel Ridge.
• •To the north, the view extends over the remote forest of Glenshiel and toward the high peaks surrounding Loch Mullardoch, including the massive, bulky forms of Càrn Eige and Mam Sodhail.
• •The usual ascent follows a steep, zig-zagging stalker’s path to reach the Bealach an Lapain; this high pass was once a traditional route for those travelling on foot between the glens of Kintail and Moriston.
• •Despite standing at 956 metres, it is often dismissively regarded as the 'easy' sister, serving mainly as a steep, breathless warm-up for the more jagged and technical peaks further west.