Top five things to see in the Scottish Highlands on your study abroad program

The Scottish Highlands have some of the most scenic and breath-taking views in the United Kingdom. Studying in London with AIFS means that you can reach the incredible sights of the Scottish Highlands with ease. There are a plethora of beautiful sights to visit and the cascading waterfalls, mythical legends, historic castles and the never-ending sea is enough to take your breath away.

Karolina Klatka, one of our London study abroad student bloggers, shares her top five things that she experienced during her recent trip to the Scottish Highlands:

“The incredible three-day trip to the milk and honey of the United Kingdom was truly magical;  lush, green and sprinkled with a bit of fairy dust.

Here are my top five things to see in the Scottish Highlands:

1. Isle of Skye

The Isle of Skye is one of Scotland’s most visited Islands. At 50 miles long, it is the largest of the Inner Hebrides. As soon as we had crossed over the bridge to the Isle of Skye, we were surrounded by refreshing water. The intermittent rain had left a beautiful rainbow for use to appreciate. We stopped off for lunch and wandered along the rocks by the water. My home in the United States is a landlocked state. The Isle of Skye was a pleasant change of scenery and the smell of the sea air was refreshing and invigorating.

2. Hiking to waterfalls

Another great thing to do in the Scottish Highlands is to hike to one of the many beautiful waterfalls. Our tour guide introduced us to some incredibly powerful roaring waterfalls. At one stop I hiked all the way down to a steep path and came face to face with the waterfall. The falls led straight into the sea. I would highly recommend hiking the grassy hills for the beautiful view across to the waterfalls.

3. River of eternal beauty

Another memorable destination was the River Sligachan. The waters are meant to be enchanted and the legend goes that dunking your face in the river for just seven seconds will give you eternal beauty. Most of us decided to dunk our faces in the river to test out the legend. Although legends are never true, it was a refreshing splash and fun experience together. If you get the chance, do it!

4. Loch Ness

There are hundreds of Lochs throughout the Scottish Highlands. We got to visit one of the most famous – Loch Ness! By surface area alone, Loch Ness is the second largest loch in Scotland but owing to its incredible depth it is the largest by volume in all the British Isles. I would highly recommend visiting this breath-taking sight and trying your luck at spotting the famous Loch Ness monster!

5. Eilean Donan Castle

On our tour of the lakes we stopped off at a historic castle – the Eilean Donan. The castle is meant to be named after Bishop Donan, the 6th century Irish Saint, who came to Scotland around 580 AD – yes 580 AD! This is the perfect photo opportunity. We stopped here a couple times just to take pictures from different angles. The reflections in the water added beauty to the already wonderful castle. This should definitely be on your list of things to see in the Scottish Highlands.

I’m so grateful that I had the chance to witness the beauty of the Scottish Highlands through my study abroad programme in London!”

This content was contributed by Karolina Klatka one of our student bloggers. She is studying abroad this Spring on an AIFS Customized Faculty-Led program in London, England through the London Consortium.