The beauty of Loch Ness in the Scottish highlands

When you hear of lakes in Scotland, they are referred to as 'Loch XYZ', such as Loch Ness or Loch Lomond. Why Loch ? Well, in the Scottish and Irish language, Loch is the word for lake, and apparently since it is not a big or fancy word, and something that is easy to pronounce, it is used widely. So, when you look at maps or local signs, they will refer to these lakes as Loch, and if you speak to people in the area, they are proud of these magnificent bodies of water and prefer to refer to them as Loch rather than as a lake.

Mist and cloud in the morning over Loch Ness in Scotland (More photos / Prints)

There are many such Lochs in the Scottish Highlands, and are important to the local economy. These water bodies are the anchor on which the tourism economy of the Scottish Highlands depends upon, and the number of tourists that come to this area for the beauty, the sceneries, the excellent weather, is very important for the economy of Scotland as a whole.

A Merganser drake in the water of the Loch Ness (More photos / Prints)

These Lochs, atleast the most famous ones, are all sided to one side of a hill or mountain; these Lochs are not very broad (some can be less than a kilometer wide at some points), but can be very long. One of the most famous is Loch Ness. The reason it is so famous is because of the name, with sightings over the years of an apparent pre-historic monster called the Loch Ness monster or Nessie (the more affectionate name). This monster (of which presence there is no conclusive proof) apparently lives in Loch Ness, a Loch that is pretty large (it is not immediately much longer or wider than other lakes), but is pretty deep and as a result, the volume of water contained in Loch Ness is one of the largest in the whole of UK.

Man kayaking on the water of the Loch Ness (More Photos / Buy a print)

The surroundings of Loch Ness are very beautiful, with greenery, hills and some heritage monuments (the most prominent being the ruins of Urquhart Castle). There are many boating cruises on the Loch, and one can even take a kayak or similar boat onto the water and enjoy (there is of course no guarantee of what would happen if you come across the monster - if you survive and managed to take photos, you would get incredibly reach).

Man sitting on steps reading paper on shore of Loch Ness (More photos / Buy print)

Because of the greenery around the Loch, the water of the Loch is very murky, which means that various expeditions in the past to try and determine the presence of the Loch Ness monster have come to naught.