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Snowdon (Welsh: Yr Wyddfa) is the highest mountain in Wales and is Great Britain's highest mountain south of the Scottish Highlands. It is also higher than anywhere in Ireland. It has been described as "probably the busiest mountain in Britain." It is located in Snowdonia National Park (Welsh: Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri), in Gwynedd. The summit is known as Yr Wyddfa, Welsh for "the tumulus") and lies at an altitude of 1,085 metres (3,560 ft) above sea level. In terms of 'absolute height' it is the same height as Table Mountain in South Africa. As the highest peak in Wales, Snowdon is one of three mountains climbed as part of the National Three Peaks Challenge. The English name Snowdon comes from the Saxon "Snow Dun," meaning "snow hill," although the amount of snow on Snowdon in winter has been decreasing recently, having dropped by more than 55% since 1994. Snowdon has one of the wettest climates in Great Britain, receiving an annual average of more than 4,500 millimetres (180 in) of precipitation.
Climbing on Snowdon
The many steep cliffs in the Snowdon range are significant in the history of British rock climbing. The first recorded climb in the area was the 1798 ascent of the Eastern Terrace of Clogwyn Du'r Arddu (English: the black cliff of the dark(ness)) by the Reverends Peter Williams and W. Bingley, botanists looking for alpine plants. The north face of Y Lliwedd was explored in the late 19th century and in 1909 was the subject of the first British climbing guide, The Climbs on Lliwedd by J. M. A. Thompson and A. W. Andrews. Also, Edmund Hillary trained here for his climb up Mount Everest.

Snowdonia National Park
Snowdonia National Park (Welsh: Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri) was established in 1951 as the third National Park in England and Wales. It covers 827 square miles (2,140 km2), and has 37 miles (60 km) of coastline.
The Park is governed by the Snowdonia National Park Authority, which is made up of local government and Welsh national representatives, and its main offices are at Penrhyndeudraeth. Unlike national parks in other countries, Snowdonia (and other such parks in England and Wales) are made up of both public and private lands under central planning authority. The makeup of land ownership at Snowdonia is as follows:
More than 26,000 people live within the Park, of whom about 62% speak Welsh. The Park attracts over 6 million visitors annually, split almost equally between day and staying visitors, making it the third most visited National Park in England and Wales.[2]
Whilst most of the land is either open or mountainous land, there is a significant amount of agricultural activity within the Park.
Since the local government re-organisation of 1998, the Park lies partly in the county of Gwynedd, and partly in the county borough of Conwy. It is governed by the 18-member Snowdonia National Park Authority; 9 members are appointed by Gwynedd, 3 by Conwy, and the remaining 6 by the National Assembly for Wales.
Unusually, Snowdonia National Park has a hole in the middle, around the town of Blaenau Ffestiniog, a slate quarrying centre. This was deliberately excluded from the Park when it was set up in order to allow the development of new light industry to replace the decimated slate industry.
The Snowdonia Society is a registered charity formed in 1967. It is a voluntary group of people with an interest in the area and its protection.
Mountain ranges
Snowdonia may be divided into four areas:
- The northernmost area is the most popular with tourists, and includes (from west to east) Moel Hebog, Mynydd Mawr and the Nantlle Ridge; the Snowdon Massif; the Glyderau; and the Carneddau. These last three groups are the highest mountains in Wales, and include all Wales' 3000-foot mountains.
- The second area includes peaks such as Moel Siabod, Cnicht, the Moelwynion, and the mountains around Blaenau Ffestiniog.
- The third area includes the Rhinogydd in the west as well as the Arenig and the Migneint (this last being an area of bog), and Rhobell Fawr. This area is not as popular with tourists as the other areas, due to its remoteness.
- The southernmost area includes Cadair Idris, the Tarren range, and the Aran group, including Aran Fawddwy, the highest mountain in the United Kingdom south of Snowdon.
Mountain walking
Many of the hikers in the area concentrate on Snowdon itself. It is regarded as a fine mountain, but can become quite crowded, particularly with the Snowdon Mountain Railway running to the summit.
The other high mountains with their boulder-strewn summits-as well as Tryfan, one of the few mountains in the UK south of Scotland whose ascent needs hands as well as feet-are also very popular. However, there are also some spectacular walks in Snowdonia on the lower mountains, and they tend to be relatively unfrequented. Among hikers' favourites are Y Garn (east of Llanberis) along the ridge to Elidir Fawr; Mynydd Tal-y-Mignedd (west of Snowdon) along the Nantlle Ridge to Mynydd Drws-y-Coed; Moelwyn Mawr (west of Blaenau Ffestiniog); and Pen Llithrig y Wrach north of Capel Curig. Further south are Y Llethr in the Rhinogydd, and Cadair Idris near Dolgellau.
The Park has 1,479 miles (2,380 km) of public footpaths, 164 miles (264 km) of public bridleways, and 46 miles (74 km) of other public rights of way. A large part of the Park is also covered by Right to Roam laws.

Source: wikipedia.org - Photos: Elisabet A.