Scotland Highlands Trek (+Ben Nevis) | Mountain Madness

A “Mad­ness-style” adven­ture, with great hik­ing and scram­bling, good food and fun places to eat, an end to each hik­ing day in a pub or inn to recap!

Blessed with amazing diversity of geography and his­to­ry, Scot­land is an incred­i­ble des­ti­na­tion for hik­ing and climb­ing. Bar­ren and rocky moun­tains rise from moor­lands pocked with heather, this­tle, and wild­flow­ers. Long val­leys with deep and mys­te­ri­ous lochs (lakes) divide the moun­tain ranges. While some roads bisect the High­lands, pas­sen­ger trains are the most effi­cient mode of trans­porta­tion.

The Scottish High­lands are among the least-pop­u­lat­ed areas in Europe, and much of the region is unin­hab­it­ed except for scat­tered farms and vil­lages. Trails lace the High­lands, lead­ing to moun­tain tops before drop­ping to vil­lages and small inns. High­lights include: train trav­el through the High­lands, hikes on clas­sic trails and ascents of peaks includ­ing Ben Nevis (high­est peak in the British Isles), and accom­mo­da­tions in local inns and small hotels.

This is typically a summer/early fall trip, for weather and environmental reasons. For info on safety issues and protocols, contact Mountain Madness. Here’s details, from Mountain Madness:

Days 1-2  Depart from home. Arrive and overnight in Inverness. Free time to explore and relax, post flight.

Day 3  Travel to the West Highlands, go for a spectacular two-hour trek (about 3.5 km/185-metre ele­va­tion gain). Overnight at Eden­coille, Kinlochleven.

Day 4  The Devil’s Staircase. You will hike a stage of the famous West High­land Way trekking route, trekking the most chal­leng­ing stage and cross­ing the high point of the route, a pass known as the Devil’s Stair­case. About 14 km/500-metre ele­va­tion gain, approx. 5 hours. Overnight: Eden­coille, Kinlochleven.

Scottish Highlands Trek trip. (Mountain Madness)

Day 5  Ben Nevis. Leav­ing Glen­coe, a short trans­fer north takes us to Tor­lundy by the town of Fort William. This is the ​“true” starting point for a hike up Scotland’s high­est moun­tain — Ben Nevis. It may only be 1,345 metres high, but start­ing from sea lev­el makes it chal­leng­ing. We scale this clas­sic moun­tain via the dra­mat­ic ridge, Carn Mor Dearg. Later we enjoy a cel­e­bra­to­ry pint in the Ben Nevis Inn—a fab­u­lous old stone bar that’s the tra­di­tion­al place to recover from this hike! Overall, a 17.5-km/1,506-metre ele­va­tion trek, about 10 hours. Overnight: Eden­coille, Kinlochleven.

Day 6  Glencoe’s Peaks. Today we hike in Glen­coe itself, with sev­er­al fan­tas­tic moun­tains to choose from, such as Buachaille Etive Mor or Bidean nam Bian. Hik­ing is as good as you’ll find any­where in the world. After­wards enjoy a beer, din­ner and maybe some live music in the Boots Bar at the Clachaig Inn at Glencoe. Approx 14 km/1,000-metre ele­va­tion hike, about 6–8 hours. Overnight: Eden­coille, Kinlochleven.

Day 7  Kintail. Trans­fer northwest to the moun­tain­ous region of Tor­ri­don, a haven for many of Scotland’s clas­sic peaks, including the Five Sis­ters of Kin­tail. A stop at Eilean Donan Cas­tle, then onwards to Torridon, a 7-km/700-metre ele­va­tion hike, about 4 hours. Overnight: Tigh An Eilean, Sheildaig.

Day 8  Enjoy an eas­i­er hike today, with var­i­ous options for amaz­ing moun­tain hikes in Tor­ri­don. A guide will dis­cuss options, and you can choose as a group (Ben Damph, Beinn Alli­gin are options) Overnight: Tigh An Eilean, Sheildaig.

Day 9  Loch Clair. On your final day, enjoy an easy, low-lev­el hike to stretch the legs, the cir­cuit of Loch Clair. After­wards jour­ney to the High­land cap­i­tal Inver­ness, arriv­ing mid-after­noon for our farewell din­ner together. Overnight in Inverness.

Day 10  Depart Inver­ness and fly home.

MOUNTAIN MADNESS

• Phone: 800.328.5925
• SM: @MountainMadness1984, @mountainmad
• Length/Departs: 10 days/custom dates available; contact Mountain Madness for details
• Accommodation: Cozy inns and pubs
• Price:$4,850 USD
• Difficulty/Physical prep: This trip involves trekking about 5-8 hours a day, with large elevation gains of 1,000-2,000+ feet OR 305-610+ meters a day. There are multiple days of this level of trekking throughout the trip. Mountain Madness recommends that overall, as a guideline, you should be in great physical shape, and doing about 4, one-hour workouts per week before the trip. Also, you should include in your prep routine (a few times) hiking with a small pack for several hours, with altitude gain if possible.

Trip description & details from operator. To see more or book this trip, click here.