Llanberis

Llanberis makes an excellent base for exploring Yr Wyddfa and the wider Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park, and its accommodation reflects the village's long history of looking after walkers and climbers rather than day-trippers alone. The Royal Victoria Hotel, set in its own grounds between Llyn Padarn and Llyn Peris, is the grandest option, with two restaurants and bars and views straight up towards the mountain. The smaller, more contemporary Padarn Lake Hotel sits close to the Snowdon Mountain Railway station and is well placed for an early start up the Llanberis Path. Budget-minded visitors are well served too: YHA Snowdon Llanberis is a short walk from the High Street, while Jesse James Bunkhouse, just outside the village, has been housing walking and climbing groups since 1966. Beyond the village, the wider Llanberis Pass and the shores of Llyn Padarn offer further guesthouses and self-catering cottages, many run by families with generations-deep roots in the local quarrying and mountaineering community. Booking ahead is strongly advised for spring and summer weekends, when the combination of Snowdon Mountain Railway passengers and walkers tackling the Llanberis Path puts real pressure on the village's beds. Whatever you choose, staying in Llanberis itself rather than further afield means you can be on the mountain, or at the lake shore, within minutes rather than driving in each day.

Between the mountain, the lake and the old quarries, Llanberis packs an unusual amount into a small village. These are the essentials:

• Snowdon Mountain Railway – Britain's only rack-and-pinion railway, opened in 1896, climbs 4.7 miles from a station in the village to the 1,085m summit of Yr Wyddfa. Steam and diesel services run seasonally, roughly late March to late October.
• Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) via the Llanberis Path – the classic walkers' route up Wales' highest mountain starts right in the village. At around 9 miles up and down, it's the longest of the main paths but also the most gradual, and it runs close to the railway line for much of the climb.
• National Slate Museum – housed in the former workshops of Dinorwig quarry in Padarn Country Park, with free entry, working machinery and a recreated quarrymen's row of cottages. It gives real weight to Llanberis's industrial story. Note: the museum has been closed for major renovation since late 2024, so check current opening status before visiting.
• Dolbadarn Castle – a stark round tower built by the Welsh prince Llywelyn the Great in the 1220s-30s, guarding the pass above Llyn Padarn. Free to visit and looked after by Cadw, it's a short, steep walk from the village with some of the best views in Llanberis.
• Llyn Padarn and the Llanberis Lake Railway – the lake that gives the village its setting is ringed by Padarn Country Park, with lakeside walks, watersports and a narrow-gauge heritage railway that runs along the old slate-hauling trackbed on the northern shore.
• Ceunant Mawr waterfall – a short, easy walk from the village centre leads to this wooded gorge and its 100ft-plus falls, a good option on a day when the mountain is under cloud.
• Vivian Quarry – a flooded section of the old Dinorwig workings within Padarn Country Park, popular with divers exploring the submerged quarry structures, and with climbers on the surrounding slate faces.

Pete's Eats on the High Street has been feeding climbers and walkers for decades and remains the village's best-known cafe, serving hearty, no-nonsense food in a room lined with mountain photos and memorabilia. For something more polished in the evening, The Peak Restaurant, in the centre of the village since 2003, serves modern Welsh cooking. Llanberis's pubs have always doubled as unofficial mountaineering clubhouses, and a pint after a day on the hill is as much a part of the ritual here as the walk itself.

Wild camping is not a legal right in Wales, and pitching a tent on private land without permission – which covers the vast majority of the countryside around Llanberis, including most of Eryri National Park – technically counts as trespass. That said, there is a long-standing informal tolerance among landowners and the mountain community for discreet, one-night wild camps high on the open mountain, well above the farmed valley land, provided walkers arrive late, leave early and take everything away with them. Snowdon's upper slopes see this kind of high-camping tradition every summer, though it remains a matter of goodwill rather than legal right, and campers should always default to a proper site if one is available nearby.

For a more straightforward stay, Llanberis and the surrounding villages have a good spread of proper campsites and glampsites, from simple grassy fields with mountain views to smarter set-ups with pods and yurts, many run by farming families who have worked this land for generations. Facilities range from basic to well-equipped, and a number of sites sit close enough to the village to walk in for a pint or a plate of chips after a day on the hill. Given Llanberis's position right at the start of the Llanberis Path up Snowdon, and its closeness to Llyn Padarn for lake walks and watersports, a tent or pod here puts you within easy reach of some of the best walking in Wales without ever needing the car.

Late spring to early autumn is by far the best season to camp around Llanberis, when the days are longest and the Snowdon Mountain Railway is running its full seasonal timetable for those who'd rather not walk both ways. Nights can still be cold even in summer this close to the mountains, so it pays to come prepared regardless of the forecast down in the valley. Booking ahead for weekends is strongly recommended, as sites here fill quickly once the walking season gets going.