Best Waterfalls in Skye & Lochalsh
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The best waterfalls in Skye & Lochalsh are Lealt Falls, Rha Waterfalls, Bride's Veil Falls, Eas a' Chaorainn, Fairy Pools, Carbost Burn Waterfall, Talisker Waterfall and Eas Aboist.
Skye and Lochalsh wear their waterfalls on a dramatic coast, where burns drop straight off cliffs into the sea and clear pools gather beneath the Cuillin. The best known are the Fairy Pools in Glen Brittle, a string of blue-green pools and falls below the Black Cuillin, and Lealt Falls, plunging through its gorge to the Sound of Raasay on the Trotternish coast.
Nearby, the twin Rha Waterfalls drop through woodland at Uig, and the thin white ribbon of Bride's Veil slips down below the pinnacles of the Storr. On the west coast, Talisker Waterfall pours over its high cliff onto the black-and-white sand of Talisker Bay, while the little Carbost Burn feeds the well-known distillery, and Eas Aboist tumbles over the sea cliffs of remote Duirinish.
Across the water in Knoydart, Eas a' Chaorainn falls beside a stalkers' path in roadless country. Some are minutes from the road; others need boat or long walk.
Here are eight waterfalls to seek out.
Lealt Falls
Photo: Trevor Rickard via Geograph.org.uk
Lealt Falls drops through a deep, narrow gorge on the east coast of the Isle of Skye, where the River Lealt makes its way down to the sea at the Sound of Raasay. From a car park on the main road, a short and nearly level gravel path leads to a wooden platform looking over the gorge, with a second platform further on giving a view along the coast.
The river falls in stages down the wooded ravine below. Out toward the shore lie the remains of an old works where diatomite, a soft mineral used in industry, was once processed and shipped away, served by a small railway built in 1889.
Rha Waterfalls
Photo: John Allan via Geograph.org.uk
Rha Waterfalls are a pair of falls where the River Rha drops through a wooded gorge just before reaching the bay at Uig, on the north-west coast of the Isle of Skye. The twin cascades pour side by side over the rock in a patch of old broadleaf woodland, reached on a short path of about ten minutes from a lay-by near the village, up wooden steps that grow slippery when wet.
It is a quieter spot than the nearby Fairy Glen, with some scrambling onto the riverbed rocks for the best view.
Bride's Veil Falls
Photo: Elliott Simpson via Geograph.org.uk
Bride's Veil Falls is a slender waterfall below the rocky pinnacles of the Storr on the Trotternish peninsula of Skye. The water slips down a rock face in a thin white veil, the shape that gives it its name, close to the road that runs along the coast below the Storr.
It can be seen from a layby, and a short, steep scramble leads up to the foot of it, on ground that is often wet and muddy. From there the views open out over Loch Leathan and the sea, with the jagged crest of the Storr rising behind.
In heavy rain it swells; in dry weather it thins to a trickle.
Eas a' Chaorainn
Photo: Adam Ward via Geograph.org.uk
Eas a' Chaorainn, meaning the waterfall of the rowan, is a small waterfall on a hill burn in Knoydart, the remote west-coast peninsula reached only by boat from Mallaig or on foot. It lies on the stalkers' path that climbs Beinn na Caillich from the village of Inverie, a couple of miles up from the shore, where the burn drops in a cascade beside the track.
Walkers on the way up the hill pass it, with the peak of Ladhar Bheinn rising ahead across the glen. There are no facilities; this is open, roadless country.
Fairy Pools
Photo: Chris Downer via Geograph.org.uk
The Fairy Pools are a string of clear blue-green pools and small waterfalls on a burn running down from the Black Cuillin in Glen Brittle on Skye. The water is startlingly clear, dropping from pool to pool over rock beneath the mountains, and the spot has become one of the most visited on the island.
A walk of a little over a mile from the car park leads up to the pools. Some swim in them, though the water stays cold all year.
Carbost Burn Waterfall
Photo: Richard Dorrell via Geograph.org.uk
Carbost Burn Waterfall is a small waterfall on the Carbost Burn, near the village of Carbost on the Isle of Skye. The burn drops over rock in a pretty little fall a short way from the village, in the green country running down toward the sea loch of Loch Harport.
It is the same stream that supplies water to the well-known Talisker distillery nearby. It is an out-of-the-way spot rather than a marked sight, seen from a quiet back road with a pool below the drop where you might take a dip.
Its flow rises and falls with the weather, dramatic after heavy rain and thin in dry spells, and it is known mostly to locals and passers-by.
Talisker Waterfall
Photo: Gordon Hatton via Geograph.org.uk
Talisker Waterfall drops down the tall cliff on the north side of Talisker Bay, on the west coast of the Isle of Skye, and is seen across the sand as you come down to the beach. Fed by a burn draining a hill loch above, it pours over the high rock face when in flow, though it can shrink to a thread in dry weather and run hard after rain.
It is reached on the same walk of about a mile from the road end that leads to the bay, and the beach and its sea stack, black-and-white sand and the fall together make the spot.
Eas Aboist
Photo: John Allan via Geograph.org.uk
Eas Aboist is a coastal waterfall on the Duirinish shore of Skye, near Glendale, where a burn tumbles in two drops over the sea cliffs. Its flow depends heavily on the weather, full after rain and little more than a trickle in dry spells.
The same name attaches to an old cleared township nearby. It is an obscure fall on a remote stretch of the Skye coast.
FAQs
Are the Fairy Pools on Skye worth visiting?
Yes, the Fairy Pools in Glen Brittle are among the most visited spots on Skye, a string of startlingly clear blue-green pools and small falls running down from the Black Cuillin, reached on a walk of a little over a mile. Some swim in them, though the water stays cold all year.
Which waterfalls in Skye and Lochalsh are easiest to reach?
Lealt Falls, on the Trotternish coast, has a short, nearly level gravel path from a roadside car park to viewing platforms over the gorge. Bride's Veil below the Storr can be seen from a layby, and Talisker Waterfall shares the mile-long walk down to Talisker Bay.
Where are the most remote waterfalls in Skye and Lochalsh?
Eas a' Chaorainn lies in Knoydart, a peninsula reached only by boat from Mallaig or on foot, and Eas Aboist falls over the cliffs of the remote Duirinish shore near Glendale, both open, roadless country with no facilities. Eas a' Chaorainn sits on a stalkers' path climbing from Inverie.
Conclusion
Skye and Lochalsh keep their finest water where the burns meet the sea and the mountains. The Fairy Pools gather clear beneath the Black Cuillin, Lealt Falls drops to the Sound of Raasay, and the Rha pours twin through its Uig woodland.
Bride's Veil slips below the Storr, Talisker plunges over its bay cliff, and the little Carbost Burn feeds the distillery below. In the far corners, Eas Aboist tumbles over the Duirinish cliffs and Eas a' Chaorainn falls beside a Knoydart path in roadless country reached only by boat or foot.
Some are easy roadside stops, others long walks into the wild, all fuller after rain. These are the waterfalls to seek out across Skye and Lochalsh.
