The Fara

The Fara is a mountain in the Grampian Mountains of the Scottish Highlands. It stands at 911 metres beside Loch Ericht, close to the village of Dalwhinnie. The mountain is broad and rounded, with a long summit ridge running north to south for several miles. Its slopes are gentle enough for a straightforward climb. From the top walkers look down on the dark waters of the loch below. The summit itself is just three metres short of the 914-metre threshold for Munro status. The Fara offers one of the finest wide-angle views in the central Highlands. On clear days the eye travels across the rounded tops of the Monadhliath range to the west. To the east the Cairngorms appear as a jagged skyline of pale granite. Ben Alder and its neighbours rise in the south, while the grey dome of Carn Dearg Beag looms to the north. The ridge walk rewards climbers with changing perspectives of the surrounding glens and corries. A narrow path leads from Dalwhinnie up the southern flank of the mountain. It crosses heather moorland and patches of bog before reaching the broad summit plateau. The ridge itself is broad and stony, with few obstacles. On windless days the only sounds are the cry of golden plovers and the rustle of sedge grass. In winter the plateau becomes a windswept snowscape, but the route remains straightforward for those with ice axe and crampons.