The Central Highlands are defined here as the part of scottish highlands on either side of the Great Glen. Historically, these are the regions Hole but, Lochalsh and Inverness-shire. Borders to the south Argyll and Bute on, in the east North East Scotland With Perth and Kinross and the Cairngorms, to the north the northwest highlands With Ross-shire and to the west the Atlantic with the upstream Inner Hebrides.
Regions
The Great Glen runs through the highlands along a geological fracture zone named after him Great Glen Fault. The chain of elongated lakes Loch Lochy, Loch Oich and Loch Ness and the southwestern continuation in the ocean, Loch Linnhe fill the Great Glen, which since time immemorial has offered a cheap transport route to the north. The watershed is barely over 40 m above sea level. The Caledonian Channel uses the Great Glen, as does the A 82. The strategic importance is given by a series of forts, Fort William, Fort Augustus and Fort George (near Inverness) underlined.
- Fort William and Lochaber southern Great Glen with dramatic mountain scenery around Glencoe and Ben Nevis, Great Britain's highest mountain
- Inverness region - Northern Great Glen with the largest city far and wide
- Lochalsh -
- Morvern, Moidart, Ardnamurchan - remote part of the mainland with the westernmost point at Ardnamurchan
places
- 1 Inverness - Capital and at the same time largest city and economic center of the administrative district Highlands. It only received city rights in 2001.
- 2 Fort William refers to itself due to its proximity to Ben Nevis and Glencoe as Outdoor Capital of the UK.
- 3 Glenfinnan - Known for the railway viaduct (Harry Potter) and the 2nd Jalobien Uprising under Bonnie Prince Charlie
- 4 Fort Augustus - Small town at the south end of Loch Ness
- 5 Drumnadrochit - Town on Loch Ness with a remarkable number of monsters
- 6 Kyle of Lochalsh - former ferry port to Skye and terminus of the North Highland Railway Line
- 7 Mallaig - Ferry Terminal to Skye and the Small Isles
- 8 Plockton - Former fishing village with a sheltered harbor with palm trees on the promenade
- 9 Dornie - with the postcard motif of the Eilean Donan Castle
- 10 Strontian - small place on Moidart, after which the chemical element strontium is named
- 11 Glencoe - Village in one of the wildest scenic valleys in Scotland
Other goals
- 1 Rannoch Moor - Nothing. Just nothing. Just wilderness
- 2 Loch Ness - Scotland's largest lake, which attracts visitors more for its legend than its landscape
- 3 Glen Affric - Hikers' paradise in solitude
- 4 Culloden - Site of the last battle on the British Isles, when the Jacobite revolt against the English army ended here in 1745
background
Lonely landscapes, treeless high moors, rough mountains, dark lakes, well-fortified castles, shaggy cattle, rainbows - the central highlands have been what visitors have come to expect from Scotland in search of romance since the 19th century.
This landscape is the result of human activity. The once forested mountains were cleared to obtain wood for shipbuilding and as construction timber in coal pits. In large-scale "purges", the notorious Highland Clearances, since the end of the 18th century, the big landowners drove out the people who lived there in order to create space for more profitable sheep breeding and later red deer hunting.
language
English with a robust highland dialect. to you rr rolling like rockfalls, shifting sounds, e.g. from u to i, make the first impression doubt whether it is really English. That changes over time, you listen to each other and occasionally the hospitable Highlander makes an extra effort for a stranger.
Gaelic is still used here and there, but more private space. Street signs and place names are mostly in Gaelic.
getting there
Inverness has one Inverness Airport
(IATA: INV). with various domestic and occasional international connections. A wider choice of flights is available from Glasgow Airport(IATA: GLA) and Edinburgh Airport(IATA: EDI).
With the train you have connections from Glasgow or Edinburgh via Perth to Inverness (Highland Main Line), as well as on the West Highland Line from Glasgow to Fort William / Mallaig.
Long-distance buses drive from Glasgow, Edinburgh or English cities to Inverness and Fort William.
With the automobile the most important access roads are those which are in parts motorway-like 
from Perth north towards Inverness (and further north) and the A 82 from Glasgow about that Loch Lomond to Fort William. The other streets are 
/ 
from Stirling and Perth.
mobility
The public transport network stretches along the most important streets, these are the A-streets with one- and two-digit numbers. There are several buses between the larger towns, and often only once a day to remote locations.
There are railways to Inverness and from Inverness via Dingwall to Kyle of Lochalsh and from (Glasgow) -Crianlarich to Fort William and Mallaig.
Most travelers will arrive with their own vehicle and will find a well-developed road network with mostly two-lane roads that enable rapid progress. The important roads have been straightened and, as far as possible, will be led around settlements. Smaller roads are also two-lane, but often winding. One can only find single-lane roads in the remote valleys.
Narrow sea bays such as Loch Etive and Loch Leven, Dornoch Firth are mostly crossed with bridges. This is an exception Loch Linnheon which the Connel Ferry Translated towards Morvern and shortened a 150 km detour on sometimes very narrow roads around Loch Linnhe / Loch Eil.
Tourist Attractions
Even if you think that you can only survive in this inhospitable area with the help of the achievements of modern civilization, there are traces of settlement since the Iron Age. Brochs in the Glenelg and Loch Alsh bear witness to this.
Other attractions include medieval castles at strategic points such as Inverlochy Castle at Fort William, Eilean Donan in Loch Duich, Castle Tioram in Loch Moidart, Urquhart Castle at Loch Ness, Inverness Castle, partly in ruins today, partly rebuilt / restored in the 19th century.
Castles and lush country estates can be found throughout the area. Some are private and also not widely accessible, with others the gardens are accessible, still others are (luxury) hotels today, but can at least be visited when having afternoon tea, for example Glenborrodale Castle on Ardnamurchan, Castle Stuart and Culloden House near Inverness, Arisaig House in Arisaig.
Technical sights include the Caledonian Canal, Waterway between the North Sea and the Atlantic along the Great Glen with numerous locks, including the Neptune's staircase at Fort William and crossing bridges, the railroad lines with the Glenfinnan Viaduct between Fort William and Mallaig or the Culloden Viaduct south of Inverness. Numerous dams like on Loch Quoich, the Blackwater Reservoir and the resulting lakes are just as much a sight as the grandiose nature itself attraction number one remains.
activities
- In winter, skiing is possible in the ski areas on the Aonach Eagach (marketed as the "Nevis Range") and in the Glen Coe not far from the Kingshouse Hotel. Ski rental is offered on site.
- Mountain hiking, climbing on some routes, is possible everywhere in the region. The mountain groups around the Ben Nevis, the Mamores, on both sides of the Glen Coe, in Kintail, the Glen Affric, the remote Monadliath Mountains, the mountains around Loch Monar, the Glen Affric and the Knoydart make up around two thirds of all Munros and allow tours of various lengths and degrees of difficulty. Multi-day hikes are also possible with an evening return to civilization or overnight outside.
- Indoor climbing in the former aluminum hut in Kinlochleven with different levels of difficulty and an artificially iced wall for ice climbing.
kitchen
nightlife
security
Even if the Scottish mountains do not impress at the absolute height, you should always pay attention to weatherproof equipment, sturdy hiking boots, emergency supplies and a map and compass when hiking in the mountains. The exposed location against the Atlantic storms, rapid weather changes and the extremely thin settlement and lack of path infrastructure harbor risks, the underestimation of which can be fatal and does so year after year. In the mountains, on the one hand, storms on the high peaks, but also fog and the loss of orientation in the pathless area are the greatest dangers.
