Divach Falls is a waterfall about 30 m (100 ft) high in oakwoods 2 miles south-west of Drumnadrochit. A landslip closed the road to its car park in December 2024, and in October 2026 it was still shut to cars. Walk up from the village instead: about 50 minutes each way.
Divach Falls is a waterfall in oakwoods above Drumnadrochit, where the Divach Burn drops about 30 m (100 ft) before running down to Urquhart Bay on Loch Ness. It sits about 2 miles south-west of the village. The catch in 2026: a landslip closed the road to its small car park in December 2024, and Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) still listed it as closed to vehicles in October 2026. So you walk. From the village green it is about 3.7 km, roughly 50 minutes each way.
Is it worth the climb? After rain, yes. Walkhighlands says the cascade is especially impressive when heavy rain swells it, and you see it from a fenced platform above the gorge. After a dry spell there is far less water, so time your visit for a wet week.
On 31 December 2024 the River Coiltie washed away part of the hillside next to the unclassified road up to the Divach car park, and police closed the road. The FLS local alert, still live when this page was checked, says the public road “has been closed to vehicles due to a landslide” and that you can still reach the falls on foot from Drumnadrochit or the Glen Coiltie Loop.
No reopening date had been announced by October 2026. Check the FLS Divach Falls alerts page before you set off, and follow any signs on the ground.
Checked October 2026:
| Route | Distance | Time | Start |
|---|---|---|---|
| Village green to the falls and back | About 7.4 km (4.6 miles) | About 1 h 40 min walking | Drumnadrochit village green |
| Craigmonie and Divach Falls circuit (Walkhighlands) | 10 km (6.25 miles), 278 m ascent | 3 to 4 hours | Village car park by the visitor information centre |
| Car park to the falls and back (FLS) | Short earth path | About 30 min | FLS Divach car park (road closed to cars) |
The direct way. Turn off the A82 on the south side of the village onto Balmacaan Road, signed for Balmacaan and Divach. After about 800 m keep right onto the single-track road, then climb for about a mile and turn right for the falls. Expect a steady climb on tarmac most of the way.
The longer circuit. Walkhighlands links the falls with Craigmonie, the wooded crag behind the village. You climb through the Craigmonie woods past two giant redwoods to a seat on top of the crag, look out over Drumnadrochit and Loch Ness, then follow the woodland edge and minor roads up the Coiltie to the falls. You return along the road into the village. The route is waymarked in the woods; the Drumnadrochit walks guide covers Craigmonie in more detail.
From the car park area, FLS says the last stretch down to the viewing platform takes about half an hour there and back, on “an obvious but unmarked earth path”. Wear boots after rain.
The falls drop into a deep, tree-lined gorge. FLS gives the height as 100 feet; Walkhighlands says 30 m. An Ordnance Survey name book from the 1870s estimated 80 to 90 feet, so treat any figure as approximate. The oakwood round the gorge is old and quiet, and in spring it is full of birdsong.
The house above the falls has a story of its own. Historic Environment Scotland’s listing for Dhivach Lodge (Category B) describes an “outstanding site over-looking Dhivach waterfalls and gorge”. The Victorian painter John Phillip turned a stone bothy into a house there in 1864. The novelist Anthony Trollope was a guest in 1873 and later described the house in one of his novels, and J.M. Barrie, the author of Peter Pan, was a tenant in 1907 (the record spells him “Barry”).
Checked October 2026:
| Detail | |
|---|---|
| Distance from Drumnadrochit | About 2 miles (3 km), FLS |
| Road access | Closed to vehicles at the car park road (FLS alert) |
| Parking | Free FLS car park near the falls, but unreachable by car; park in the village |
| Toilets, food, shops | In Drumnadrochit, none at the falls |
| Satnav postcode | IV63 6XW |
| Bus to the village | Citylink 919 and 917 and Stagecoach 17 from Inverness |
Bring waterproof boots, as the woods are damp most of the year. FLS posts a tick warning for the site, so check your legs afterwards. There are no facilities at the falls, so use the toilets at the village car park before you start.
A morning at the falls pairs well with an afternoon at Urquhart Castle, 2 miles along the A82 from the village. On a wet day, when the falls are at their fullest but the walk is less fun, The Loch Ness Experience (formerly the Loch Ness Centre) in the village is an hour indoors. Further up the glen, Corrimony Cairn is a 4,000-year-old burial cairn about 8.5 miles west.
If you want to start the walk from your front door, look at places to stay in Drumnadrochit.
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A self-guided walk through the darkened film rooms of the Loch Ness Centre in the village, covering the loch's geology, the famous sightings and the kit real monster hunters used.
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Not when this page was checked in October 2026. The River Coiltie washed away part of the hillside beside the road in December 2024, and Forestry and Land Scotland still lists the public road to the car park as closed to vehicles. You can walk in from Drumnadrochit or the Glen Coiltie Loop. Check the FLS local alerts page before you go.
About 3.7 km (2.3 miles) each way from the village green, roughly 50 minutes on foot by OpenStreetMap routing, much of it climbing up a single-track road. Walkhighlands has a longer 10 km circuit that adds the Craigmonie viewpoint and takes 3 to 4 hours with 278 m of ascent.
Forestry and Land Scotland says the water drops 100 feet to the Divach Burn. Walkhighlands gives 30 m, which is the same height in metres. An Ordnance Survey surveyor in the 1870s put it lower, at 80 to 90 feet. The falls look their best after heavy rain.
While the road is closed, park in Drumnadrochit. The village car park by the visitor information centre has toilets, and the Walkhighlands route starts there. The small Forestry and Land Scotland car park near the falls is free, but you cannot drive to it until the road reopens.
The final path is short: FLS says to allow about half an hour from the car park to the falls and back, on an obvious but unmarked earth path to a fenced viewing platform. With the road closed, the full walk from the village is about 7.4 km return with a steady climb, which is a lot for small legs.
The best short walks from Drumnadrochit are the Craigmonie Trail (2 km, about an hour, with a viewpoint over Loch Ness) and the flat Urquhart Bay Wood loop (2 km, 45 minutes).
Urquhart Castle is a ruined castle on a rock above Loch Ness, about 2 miles from Drumnadrochit, run by Historic Environment Scotland.
Corrimony Chambered Cairn is a Clava-type passage grave about 4,000 years old, ringed by 11 standing stones, in Glen Urquhart 8.5 miles west of Drumnadrochit.
Stay on the village green if you come by bus or want to walk to dinner: Morlea B&B and the Loch Ness Drumnadrochit Hotel sit by the Drum Green stops.