Glen Nevis, Nevis Gorge and An Steall - Visit Scotland

A lovely walk through the steep-sided Nevis Gorge to an impressive waterfall, An Steall, cascading from a hanging valley (Coire A’ Mhail). This is a very impressive short walk with much geological and botanical interest, as well as stunning mountain views of the slopes of Ben Nevis, and some of the mountains of The Mamores. The lower slopes are variously clad with woodland (dominated by birch at the higher altitudes) merging into heath and upland grassland and onto bare summit and scree slopes.

This is an area of massive upheaval, igneous intrusions and glaciation events, producing a stunning geomorphology. The walk traverses a bedrock of Precambrian Dalradian fine-grained metamorphic sedimentary rocks (known as the Leven Schists), with some exposures of the red inner granite of the Ben Nevis range. Glacial moraines of unsorted alluvium deposits are also visible on route. The gorge is also peppered with large potholes gouged out of the schist (the latter visible at low waters) and an array of large boulders reflecting the turbulent glacial history of this formerly vast and fast flowing meltwater river. The waterfall emerges from the hanging valley, Coire a' Mhail, produced by differential erosion by two adjacent glaciers, and plunges 120m over quartzite to produce an impressive sight.