All walks › Eryri: Cadair Idris and the Mawddach
Eryri: Cadair Idris and the MawddachRhobell Fawr
An extinct volcano north of Dolgellau, rarely climbed, with a summit of broken rock and a view over most of southern Eryri.
- Distance
- 5.0 mi / 8 km
- Time
- 3 hr 20
- Ascent
- 450 m
- Difficulty
- Strenuous
- Shape
- There and back
Where it is
The circle shows the general area, not the exact start. Use the directions link below to get to the car park itself. Contours and paths shown are OpenTopoMap, drawn from OpenStreetMap data.
The route
Most of the 450 metres of climbing is done in the first half. Tracks climb out of the village and onto the open mountain and up to the summit. return by the outward path; the ground is rough and pathless in places.
Worth knowing
- Rhobell Fawr is the eroded core of an ancient volcano, which is why the rock is so broken.
- Almost nobody climbs it despite its height and position.
- No path for the final section; navigation matters in cloud.
What you’ll see
Broken volcanic rock, the Coed y Brenin forest below, and Cadair Idris to the south.
Background
The mountain is the remains of a volcano active around 500 million years ago, and its rock underlies much of the district.