Brecon Beacons National Park in England, Wales, United Kingdom - map and visitor information

Research checked: 2026-10-24. Check linked official notices before travel.

Bannau Brycheiniog National Park, also known as the Brecon Beacons, protects mountains, waterfall gorges, and farming communities in Wales, United Kingdom. Choose your starting point before traveling: Pen y Fan, Waterfall Country, and the visitor center at Libanus are separate destinations. A waterfall walk can involve steep, slippery steps rather than a short stroll from a parking lot.

Highlights of Bannau Brycheiniog

• Pen y Fan: climb the 886-meter mountain for a high-level walk. The National Trust welcome team at Pont ar Daf can advise on conditions.
• Waterfall Country: follow marked paths above wooded gorges. Each descent to a waterfall adds a climb back to the main trail.
• Mynydd Illtud: explore the common near Libanus, with views toward the mountains and the Iron Age hillfort at Twyn y Gaer.

Plan your visit to the mountains and waterfalls

Fees, hours, and seasonal access

Safety on exposed hills and gorge paths

Carry a map, compass, waterproof clothing, warm layers, food, and enough drinking water. Pont ar Daf has no water-bottle refill point. Be ready to turn back if conditions deteriorate. In a mountain emergency, call 999 and ask for Police, then Mountain Rescue.

Waterfall paths can be uneven and slippery. Keep to marked routes and away from drops. Deep plunge pools and powerful currents make waterfall swimming dangerous. Read the Waterfall Country access guidance before choosing a gorge walk.

Protect paths, livestock, and quiet places

Keep dogs on a short leash around grazing animals and nesting birds. Take litter home. Do not light fires in Waterfall Country. At the Libanus visitor center, fires and barbecues are prohibited. Use marked parking spaces rather than blocking narrow roads or farm access.

Camping and mobility equipment

Use an established campsite for an overnight stay. Wild camping requires the landowner’s permission; national park status does not provide that permission. Arrange accommodation directly with its operator.

The visitor center’s free Terrain Rider mobility scooter requires advance booking for a two-hour session. Its approved use is on Mynydd Illtud near the center, rather than throughout the park.

Maps, location, and access

For a first stop, follow the A470 to Libanus and the brown signs to the National Park Visitor Centre, LD3 8ER. This center has no waterfalls. For Waterfall Country, follow road signs to Cwm Porth or Gwaun Hepste rather than navigation shortcuts through narrow lanes. These two parking areas cannot accommodate motorhomes, coaches, or caravans.

Use the National Trust’s Pen y Fan planning advice for the mountain approach. Save a detailed walking map before leaving mobile coverage.

Nearby protected landscapes

For another road-accessible stop, consider Gower National Landscape, on the peninsula beyond Swansea, for coastal walks. Wye Valley National Landscape, toward Monmouth and Tintern, offers river-valley paths. Choose the option nearer your departure side of this large park; neither is an adjoining trail extension.

Choose a hill walk, waterfall route, or common

Keep a Pen y Fan ascent as the main activity of a mountain day. For a lower starting point, the Mynydd Illtud Common Walk is a 5-kilometer circular route from the visitor center area. It still has gradients, uneven surfaces, and gates or stiles; it is not a step-free route.

If the official parking areas are full, choose a different destination instead of parking on village lanes.

Visitor facilities at Libanus and Waterfall Country

The Libanus visitor center has maps, information, a shop, a café, and toilets. Cwm Porth has toilets and a small shop; Gwaun Hepste has neither. Carry supplies that match the particular starting point you choose.

About this Welsh national park

A landscape shaped by communities

Farming, villages, and market towns remain part of the protected landscape. At Twyn y Gaer, the hillfort adds an Iron Age landmark to a walk across Mynydd Illtud. Bannau Brycheiniog is the current Welsh name used by the park authority.

Birds over Mynydd Illtud

Red kites use the air above the common. In spring and summer, look and listen for larks, wheatears, and stonechats. Watch from a distance so feeding and nesting birds can continue undisturbed.

Visitor information

National Park Visitor Centre, Libanus, Brecon, Powys LD3 8ER. Phone: +44 1874 623366. Email: [email protected].