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Kingshouse to Kinlochleven

Leaving from Kingshouse brings you face to face with the imposing sight of Buachaille Etive Mor, one of Scotland’s most famous Munros.

The mountain’s name aptly translates to The Great Herdsman of Etive, sitting at the entrance to Glen Etive on the left and the scene of the James Bond film Skyfall, with the historic Glen Coe on the right; the scene of the massacre of Clan MacDonald in 1692.

You’ll make your way towards Altnafeadh close to the foot (and starting point!) of Buachaille Etive Mor, before turning sharply right for the Devil’s Staircase. This zig-zag climb will take you up to the highest point of the West Highland Way at 550m and marked by a cairn, with breathtaking views back to ‘The Buachaille’ and northwards towards the Mamores mountain range.

After your climb up the Devil’s Staircase, the Way thankfully meanders across the moorland before heading down to Kinlochleven. If the 78 miles of trekking you have now undertaken haven’t been enough, you could always brush up on your climbing skills at the National Centre for Ice Climbing.

Download here a GPS track for the Kingshouse to Kinlochleven route section for your mobile app or GPS navigation device.

You can find out distances between various locations along the West Highland Way using the mileage chart. 

Click on the symbols of the map to find out more information about each of them. This map is not intended for navigation purposes. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2017. 

Elevation profile

Kingshouse-to-kinlochleven-elevation

Fast facts

Distance

9 Miles (14.5 km)

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Terrain

The Way is good underfoot, stony in places and easy to follow, but can be very exposed in poor weather, especially on the moorland section before Kinlochleven.

Height range: 5 – 551 m
Height at start: 244 m
Height at finish: 5 m

Be aware

No updates at the moment.

Refreshments

Kinlochleven

Toilets

Kinlochleven

Places of interest

The Devil’s Staircase (at 550m (1850ft) being the highest point along the way),  The Ice Factor (National Ice Climbing Centre) in Kinlochleven

Home to the infamous “Devil’s Staircase”.

Learn more about how this stretch of path got it’s name here.

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