Garbh Chioch Mhòr

Garbh Chioch Mhòr, at 1,013 metres, is an extremely rough and rocky ridge of immense character on the edge of Knoydart, seldom ascended by any route other than as a traverse alongside neighbouring Sgùrr na Cìche, with which it is almost always combined.

Reached from Sgùrr na Cìche via Feadan na Cìche, the wind-battered bealach between the two mountains, a path climbs gently at first alongside a distinctive stone wall that runs much of the length of this ridge, passing a couple of small lochans. The terrain becomes notably rougher higher up, with some short sections of easy scrambling on grippy rock, and impressive cliffs and crags dropping northward into the corrie below. Garbh Chioch Mhòr has two summits around 200 metres apart, with the higher, easterly one marked by a smaller cairn — easy to mistake the first cairn reached for the true summit.

From here, the ridge continues west over Garbh Chioch Bheag — "they live up to the garbh (rough) in their names," in the words of one regular visitor — with the going exceptionally rough throughout, involving many steep ascents and descents and twists and turns to avoid rocky obstacles, taking noticeably longer than expected to cover the ground.

The wall continues to guide the route down to the Bealach Coire nan Gall, from where the ascent to Sgùrr nan Coireachan, the third and final Munro of the traverse, begins.

The full three-Munro traverse — Sgùrr na Cìche, Garbh Chioch Mhòr, and Sgùrr nan Coireachan — from Loch Arkaig is around 24-26 kilometres with roughly 1,700 metres of ascent, typically ten to twelve hours.

This is genuinely rugged, remote terrain that demands sustained scrambling competence and fitness — the wall provides welcome navigational reassurance throughout, but the rocky, undulating ground still requires full concentration, particularly on tired legs later in a long day.

Parking at Loch Arkaig is free but limited; there is no public transport to the start.