Bla Bheinn (also known as Blaven) is one of the most incredible mountains in Scotland, and offers an unforgettable hiking adventure to any keen hiker! Located on the stunning Isle of Skye in Scotland, Bla Bheinn is also one of the most iconic walking destination on the island, one that made it to the ‘walking bucket list’ of countless outdoor enthusiasts and should never be overlooked!

Apart from a fine hiking experience, Blaven offers jaw-dropping summit views; standing at the top you’ll see the full length of the legendary Black Cuillin ridge just across the glen, as well as 360 degree panorama of Skye. In fact at the top and throughout the hike, the scenery will keep you well distracted from the hard climb and will leave you in awe for many years to come. You will often come back to the memories of climbing Bla Bheinn on Isle of Skye and photographs taken along the trail will never stop amazing you! Another reason to climb Bla Bheinn is that it’s the only Munro on Skye outside of Black Cuillins, this alone makes it more accessible and achievable for an average walker!

Although Blaven is a hard hike, we can’t encourage you enough to tackle it, and below we’re sharing details on how to climb Bla Bheinn with confidence and safely. Find out how to enjoy the unforgettable hike to Bla Bheinn on Isle of Skye in Scotland! Trust us, you will regret skipping a hike to Blaven, no other mountain on Skye offers such unique and mind-blowing summit views!

Bla Bheinn, Isle of Skye, Scotland, fact sheet

• Height: 929 masl
  • Total time: 5-6 hours
• Total distance: 9 km (there and back, 2 x 4.5 km)
• Parking: small parking area along road to Elgol B8083 (directions)
• Level of difficulty: 4/5 scrambling involved, mildly exposed sections, includes negotiating rocky terrain and steep scree gully, prone to sudden weather changes
• Blaven weather: weather forecast for Bla Bheinn
• Which map: Ordnance Survey Explorer 411 Cuillin Hills

How to get to Isle of Skye

Isle of Skye is located along the west coast in northern Scotland, and is one of the largest Scottish islands. The easiest way to get to Skye is driving, and most visitors do arrive to the island by car.

Conveniently Skye is connected with Scottish mainland by a bridge (Kyle of Lochalsh to Kyleakin), so no ferry crossings are necessary. If you don’t mind a lengthy drive, getting to the island is quite easy. Oh, by a lengthy drive I mean approximately 4-5 hours, depending on your driving style (the fastest route runs via A9, yes the navigation is right!).

We have visited Isle of Skye numerous times, an average journey time was 4 hours exactly (from our door in Edinburgh to Skye bridge). I assume a similar journey time can be expected when coming from Glasgow. We mention Edinburgh and Glasgow as most visitors to Scotland arrive to these two main cities.

Although driving is the easiest way of getting to Skye, you can also come by public transport. Sadly, there is no direct train connection between Edinburgh or Glasgow and Kyle of Lochalsh, but a train change in Inverness should not be too much of a problem. Further, from Kyle of Lochalsh you can easily explore the island by bus. Again, if you’d like to come to Isle of Skye by bus, you have to travel via Inverness. Luckily, Inverness is very well connected with other Scottish cities!

Having said the above, if you’d like to add to the experience by coming to Isle of Skye by ferry, you can do so, by picking the connection between Mallaig and Armadale; Skye is also well connected to the Outer Hebrides (ferry from Uig to Tarbert).

There are no airports on Isle of Skye, and the nearest international airport is located in Inverness.

How to get to Bla Bheinn trailhead

Hiking trail to Blaven starts at the small car park along the road to Elgol B8093 and is very easy to locate (directions open in Google Maps), as the car park is signposted ‘car park’ from the main road. You won’t be able to see the parking lot from the main road, but take the signposted track, cross cattle grid and a gate, and in no time you’ll arrive to a small parking area hidden behind a wall of low trees. The trail to Blaven does not leave from this particular car park, instead you have to come back to the main road and walk back 100 metres to the small bridge, cross the bridge and take the well trodden path. When facing the mountains you should take the trail on the right hand side of the stream/bridge, the path on the left side will take you back to the parking area.

Hiking to Blaven, what to expect, and our experience

Hiking trail to Bla Bheinn was recently upgraded and you can expect to follow a well maintained track for the initial approach to Blaven (approximately 3 km). This section gently rises as it runs thru moorland and along the Allt na Dunaiche stream, with beautiful views to Blaven and other peaks along the high ridge (Clach Glas and Sgurr nan Each).

Some 1.5 km into the hike you will have to cross Allt nan Dunaiche via stepping stones. We used hiking poles for improve balance and support.

Cross the stream and continue further, the trail will already be quite close to the rocky mountainside and you’ll be able to see Bla Bheinn up close and assess what’s ahead of you. Follow the trail as it gently turns left and heads for Coire Uaigneich- a grassy upper glen.

Look out for a small cairn that marks a trail fork (photo above) and leave the main trail at this point. Instead follow a faint grassy path that approaches the mountain and climbs its rocky slope. Very steep and rocky underfoot at first it soon heads into a gully filled with scree (loose rock) – your access to the high ridge of Bla Bheinn.

As soon as you reach the top of the gully you’ll arrive to an amazing viewpoint.

What lies ahead now is an easy scramble over rough black rock. As you leave the scree gully behind the terrain changes and further climb requires scrambling over rough rock. Although there are no marking you’ll easily find the way, you’ll see polished rock face or crushed rock where many have walked. The scramble is a great finish to a beautiful, fine hike. Before you know it you’ll already see the Bla Bheinn summit trig point!

Standing on the top of Bla Bheinn you will feel like the master of the world, like watching the world from its rooftop! And the scenery will leave you speechless. If you need some more convincing to hike to Bla Bheinn, check out the summit view slideshow below!

During our hike to Bla Bheinn we experienced moody weather, with light rain and clouds coming and going as we progressed. Although we didn’t have a perfectly clear view from the top, the scenery still awed us and mist and light clouds only added to the moodiness of Isle of Skye as we saw it from Blaven!

Beautiful, atmospheric scenery from the highest top of Bla Bheinn presented in the slideshow above includes the ridge of Black Cuillin range (we spotted In-Pin and the tooth of Am Basteir), glen Sligachan dotted with blue lochans, Broadford hills, Loch Slapin, Marsco, Sgurr Nan Gillean; the incredible mosaic of autumn browns and yellows (it was October!), with blue waters and black rock of Black Cuillin mountains (legendary for their beauty and difficulty!). For this very reason we believe that Blaven is one of the best viewpoints on Skye! 

To return to the car park we recommend to retrace your steps. Alternatively you can descent via tourist route that starts at the lower top of Blaven (see the interactive online map below)

Bla Bheinn hiking map

This interactive online map comes handy if you want to descent via the easier/gentler tourist route, or have a greater overview of the area.

What we loved about hiking to Blaven

We loved Bla Bheinn for the amazing hiking experience, the excitement of scrambling at the higher sections, but most importantly for the jaw-dropping views throughout the whole route! The summit views of Isle of Skye awed us forever! We are sure to re-visit Blaven every time we come to Skye! Our opinion is that if you’re a walker but not an experienced rock climber (and you’re not heading to the Black Cuillins that are best appreciated by climbers), hiking on Skye doesn’t get much better than on Bla Bheinn!

Wild camping near Blaven, nearest campsite and accommodation

Due to the steep rocky terrain higher sections of Blaven hike or the top are not suitable for camping. The lower ground, the moor and Coire Uaigneich would be good to pitch the tent if needed.

Also, please keep in mind that the small size and busy-ness of Blaven dedicated car park makes it unsuitable for motorhome stay. Indeed, if you return from the hills late you could probably stay overnight at the car park, but would be expected to vacate the space at sunrise when the first hikers arrive.

Instead we recommend booking accommodation on Skye or camping at the nearest campsite at Sligachan.

Handpicked accommodation on Isle of Skye, near Bla Bheinn:

*Level of difficulty explained:  1– easy walk, mostly flat   2-easy hillwalk, good path   3-moderate, possible some steep sections   4-long hillwalk, possibly some scrambling involved, possibly pathless   5-difficult, possibly pathless, long, requires technical skills

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