Cairngorms

Cairngorms National Park is a mountainous national park in Scotland's Highlands region.

Understand

Receiving its National Park status in September 2003, the Cairngorms National Park is Britain's largest at 3800 km² and offers breathtaking beauty filled with a magnificent array of wildlife. In 2011, the area was selected by the National Geographic Magazine as one of the top 20 places in the world to visit.

Flora and fauna

• Flora

Mountainous areas of wild land, interspersed with lochs, rivers, woodland and moorland make the Cairngorms a spectacular place to explore.

• Fauna

Scottish Crossbill, Osprey, Capercaillie, Golden Eagle are just a few of the species you might see here. There are also deer, rare red squirrels, wildcats and otters.

See

Towns

• Dulnain Bridge
• Aviemore
• Boat of Garten
• Ballater
• Dinnet
• Braemar
• Grantown on Spey
• Laggan
• Kingussie

Do

Mountain biking, canoeing, climbing, walking, horse-riding, sailing, skiing, snowboarding, golf, clay pigeon shooting, canyoning, gorge walking, orienteering, yoga, shinty, wildlife and birdwatching, tennis, swimming, white water rafting, river tubing, archery, fishing.

Sleep

There are plenty of guest houses, self-catering cottages and hotels throughout the park as well as a couple of Caravan & Camping parks.

• Muckrach Lodge, Dulnain Bridge, ☏ +44 1479 851257. Boutique country house hotel 

Camping

You can camp out in the wilderness if you are in a small group for a couple of nights, although you must stay away from houses and not disturb any livestock.