Ben Macdui ( gd, Beinn MacDuibh,
meaning "MacDuff's mountain") is the second-highest
mountain
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually highe ...
in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
and all of the
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...
, after
Ben Nevis
Ben Nevis ( ; gd, Beinn Nibheis ) is the highest mountain in Scotland, the United Kingdom and the British Isles. The summit is above sea level and is the highest land in any direction for . Ben Nevis stands at the western end of the Grampian ...
, and the highest of the
Cairngorm Mountains. The summit is above sea level and it is classed as a
Munro
A Munro () is defined as a mountain in Scotland with a height over , and which is on the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) official list of Munros; there is no explicit topographical prominence requirement. The best known Munro is Ben Nev ...
. Ben Macdui sits on the southwestern edge of the Cairngorm plateau, overlooking the
Lairig Ghru
The Lairig Ghru ( gd, Làirig Dhrù) is one of the mountain passes through the Cairngorms of Scotland. The route and mountain pass partially lies on the Mar Lodge Estate.
Like many traditional routes, the ends of the route through the Lairig Gh ...
pass to the west, and
Loch Etchachan to the east. It lies on the boundary between the
historic counties of
Aberdeenshire and
Banffshire.
Before the production of accurate maps of Scotland in the 19th century, it was not known for certain that
Ben Nevis
Ben Nevis ( ; gd, Beinn Nibheis ) is the highest mountain in Scotland, the United Kingdom and the British Isles. The summit is above sea level and is the highest land in any direction for . Ben Nevis stands at the western end of the Grampian ...
was the highest point in Britain, and it was often thought that Ben Macdui might be higher. Following su