The Cairnwell Pass is a mountain pass

Mountain pass

A mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. If following the lowest possible route, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...

 on the A93 road

A93 road

The A93 is a major road in Scotland and the highest public road in the United Kingdom. It runs north from Perth through Blairgowrie and Rattray, then through the Grampian Mountains by way of Glenshee, the Cairnwell Pass and Glen Clunie to Braemar in Aberdeenshire...

 between Glen Shee

Glen Shee

Glen Shee is a glen in eastern Perth and Kinross, Scotland through which flows the Shee Water. The Spittal of Glenshee where Glen Beag and Glen Lochy meet marks the head of the glen in the north and it then runs south-east to Bridge of Cally where it merges with Strathardle to form Glen Ericht...

, Perthshire

Perthshire

Perthshire, officially the County of Perth , is a registration county in central Scotland. It extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south...

, and Braemar

Braemar

Braemar is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, around west of Aberdeen in the Highlands. It is the closest significantly-sized settlement to the upper course of the River Dee sitting at an altitude of ....

, Aberdeenshire

Aberdeenshire

Aberdeenshire is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area.The present day Aberdeenshire council area does not include the City of Aberdeen, now a separate council area, from which its name derives. Together, the modern council area and the city formed historic...

, in the Scottish Highlands

Scottish Highlands

The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...

. The border between the two counties crosses the summit of the pass. With a summit altitude of 670m (2199 ft), the Cairnwell Pass is the highest main road in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, and at the summit is the Glenshee Ski Centre

Glenshee Ski Centre

Glenshee Ski Centre is the largest ski resort in Scotland and is sometimes referred to as the Scottish three valleys. It is located in Aberdeenshire and to the north of Spittal of Glenshee, on the A93 road between Blairgowrie and Braemar in the southern Highlands of Scotland...

, Scotland's largest and oldest ski centre. Historically, the pass was a drover's route from the Lowlands

Scottish Lowlands

The Scottish Lowlands is a name given to the Southern half of Scotland.The area is called a' Ghalldachd in Scottish Gaelic, and the Lawlands ....

 to the Highlands. The road is often blocked by snow in the winter.

A mile south of the summit is the Devil's Elbow, a notorious double-hairpin bend climbing at a gradient of 33 percent (1 in 3). The modern road bypasses the hairpin bends, but the old road still exists and its route can be walked, or carefully cycled.

See also

• List of highest paved roads in Europe
• List of mountain passes