Meall Nan Tarmachan was a summer hike for me in late July 2024 on a pretty decent weather day! The plan had been to summit Meall Nan Tarmachan and then:
a: If the weather was giving us views, carry on along the Tarmachan Ridge for the circular
b: If the weather was giving us no views, return the way we came and get to the pub for a pint quicker!
On this day, it was option B. Despite beautiful views much of the way up, it was cloud cover for the final third and no views at all. But that tends not to be uncommon hiking mountains in the UK, as we all know. So this ended up a straightforward Meall Nan Tarmachan out and back hike. Here’s how it went, the route we took and some photos from a pretty and relatively straightforward mountain day.
| Hike date | 24th July 2024 |
| Weather conditions | Mild and dry but thick cloud from around two thirds of the way up. No visibility from there. |
| Distance hiked | 9.66km |
| Walking time | 4 hours |
| Elevation gain total | 746m |
| Terrain | Clear paths initially, rocky terrain on final ascent |
| Hiked with | Friend |
Having hiked Ben Lawers, Beinn Glas and Meall Corranaich in the Lawers Range a couple of summers ago, I fell a little bit in love with the scenery in this area. The expansive views of Loch Tay and the neighbouring hills really are gorgeous. And let’s not lie – a start in the 400 or so metre elevation Ben Lawers car park plus well maintained paths means that, in good weather conditions, these are great hills to hike for a less intense day than other Munros present.
I was excited to come back to do Meall Nan Tarmachan, not least because the heather was purple. And purple heather season makes for some of the most remarkable hiking scenery.
Meall Nan Tarmachan Hiking Route
We took this out and back route:
The AllTrails estimate comes in at 7.9km. My Apple Watch said 9.6km but as ever, I do wander around off the route quite a bit so typically do clock up extra distance.
Starting at the Ben Lawers Car Park
Starting at the Ben Lawers car park means that, despite Meall Nan Tarmachan being 1,043m in height, your total elevation gain for the day will come in at less than 750m. The car park sits some 400m above sea level.
There’s really clear sign posting from the off:
And the paths are well maintained as well. Where terrain is really boggy at the lower elevations, it has been boarded over like this:
It isn’t long before the views start really opening up. And in late July the hills were much alive with the colour the purple heather in all its blooming glory:
It wasn’t too long after that though that we had to wave goodbye to our views as we entered the clouds! 
The terrain becomes a little rockier here and the path not quite as pleasant underfoot. It’s to be expected on a mountain, of course!
The final ascent is much rockier than the rest of the hike and that day’s reward, sadly, was a view of nothing but cloud:
Nonetheless, I still look pretty delighted with myself.
Given the entire Tarmachan Ridge line was shrouded in cloud too, we opted to go back down the way came and finish the hike quickly for a post hike beer. Priorities and all that.
Once out of the cloud, it was easy once again to appreciate those Lawers range views:
Gorgeous views once again as we finished the hike. Shame about the summit.
How was the hike?
This is a straightforward munro hike in good conditions. I’m always loathe to say “easy” because I’d argue there isn’t any such thing as an “easy” munro and everything is subjective based on fitness, experience, weather and even your mood on the day.
Despite this being a pretty straightforward hike with easy to follow paths, I found this one strenuous. It’s less strenuous than many hikes I’ve done but for some reason, that day, my body was just “no thanks.” So it took some encouragement from a friend to get up that hill!
Would I Hike Meall Nan Tarmachan Again?
Yes. And I plan to. I really want to do the Tarmachan Ridge. I’m not bagging Munro tops yet so I’m not too fussed about the three munro tops on the ridge. But the ridge itself just looks to be a really beautiful walk. So I will go back for that ridge on a really clear day!
Wonder when we’ll get one of those next…
All in all, this is a really lovely hike in a stunning part of Scotland.
