Highland: Mountains, Moorlands and Loch Ness

More local pages in Highland: Roybridge, Spean Bridge, Fort William and Torlundy.

Culture

Urquhart Castle offers more than 1,000 years of history on the shores of Loch Ness. During its 500 years of use as a medieval fortress, the site was the scene of serious conflicts. Climbing the Grant Tower offers panoramic views of Loch Ness and the Great Glen.

The Culloden Visitor Centre features a 360-degree battlefield experience theatre. On the battlefield, visitors can walk along the battle lines and see the soldiers’ graves beside the memorial stone. Skylarks live and breed on the site.

The Highland Folk Museum is an open-air museum with more than 35 reconstructed historic buildings. It conveys what life in the Scottish Highlands was like from the 18th to the mid-20th century. Many areas of Fort George are open for visitors to explore.

Nature

Cairngorms National Park is home to 25% of the United Kingdom’s rarest and most endangered species. The Flow Country is an actively developing blanket bog landscape in Scotland’s Highland region.

Highland Wildlife Park showcases cold-weather animals from around the world. Visitors can explore the park’s scenic paths on foot. Plodda Falls is a vertical cascade beneath Douglas firs that plunges into the Abhainn Deabhag.

Lewisian Gneiss is said to be 3 billion years old and is considered the oldest rock in Europe. North West Highlands Geopark covers more than 2,000 square kilometres in the far north of mainland Scotland.

From the summit of Ben Nevis, clear conditions can offer 360° panoramic views as far as Northern Ireland.

Trails

The Great Glen Way is a 127 km long-distance hiking trail from Fort William to Inverness. It passes along quiet woodland paths, gentle towpaths and routes to elevated viewpoints and is walkable year-round. Its length, the different types of paths and its year-round accessibility provide clear points of comparison for personal planning.

The Mountain Track to Ben Nevis begins at the visitor centre in Glen Nevis. The Flow Country can be explored on trails such as the Dubh-Lochain Trail and the Forsinain Trail.

North West Highlands Geopark offers mountaineering, scrambling, hiking trails, routes and tours. These terms refer to different forms of travel in the mountains: from mountaineering and scrambling to hiking trails and guided or signposted routes.

Getting Around

Highland Wildlife Park can be reached by car, bus or train. The Highland Folk Museum is located on National Cycle Route 7. Bicycle tours are offered in Glenfinnan.

Climbing the tower of the Glenfinnan Monument offers views of Loch Shiel. The exhibition at the monument is presented in English and Gaelic.

Loch Ness Cruises runs from Drumnadrochit to the deepest point of Loch Ness. The Far North Line runs from Inverness to Wick and Thurso, passing through impressive landscapes, high mountains and coastal scenery.

Water sports are available in the Scottish Highlands.

To the higher-level travel overview: Scotland.

More destinations

More places in the same destination:

West Dunbartonshire, Glasgow Region, Renfrewshire.