Essential Hotels > Scotland > Scottish Highlands > Aviemore

Summer or winter, autumn or spring, Badenoch and Strathspey and the slopes of Cairngorm draw appreciative visitors, keen to experience the beauty and drama of the Scottish hills at first hand.

From soaking up the sun on the shores of Loch Morlich in summer to sweeping down snow-covered ski slopes in winter, the area of Aviemore & Cairngorm offers unrivalled outdoor attractions whatever time of year you choose to visit. What’s more, only nine miles from Aviemore you arrive at the Cairngorm Ski Centre - the UK's favourite winter destination for both skiers and snowboarders.

The renowned town of Aviemore is set mid-way between Aberdeen on the eastern Scottish coast and the Isle of Skye just off the western Scottish coast. Meanwhile, the Highlands region’s only city – Inverness – is to be found a little way to the north of Aviemore. If you are hopeful of a sighting of the famous Loch Ness monster, you can head a little way to the west where you will come to the mysterious lake.

The BBC series ‘Monarch of the Glen’ was filmed entirely on location in the area set against the Cairngorm and Monadhliath Mountains, and Laggan is one of the many area localities to feature in the series. Here, at the heart of Victorian Scotland, you will discover a rich historical landscape to match the awesome vistas of tumbling rivers and ancient forests that greet you round every twist and turn in the road. This is a landscape that clan chiefs and Jacobite rebels have fought and died for. It is also a landscape that not only provides a refuge for much of Scotland's rarest wildlife, but is also home to some of the Highlands' most thrilling visitor attractions.

Make sure you don't miss the Cairngorm mountain railway, the only one in Scotland, offering spectacular views, combined with a mountain exhibition and the highest panoramic restaurant and shopping in the UK.