It lies west of Buachaille Etive Mòr, its larger neighbour, from which it is separated by a high mountain pass called Lairig Gartain.

Like its neighbour, Buachaille Etive Beag is a ridge about 3 km long that runs in a southwest–northeast direction.

The most common route on the mountain starts from the A82 at the head of Glen Coe.

An alternative route would be to start from Glen Etive, thus allowing for a traverse of the ridge.

The southwest ridge is unrelentingly steep, and one would be obliged to arrange transport back to Glen Etive or walk an additional 4 km to return via the Lairig Eilde or Lairig Gartain.