The designated area covers the mountains of Foinaven, Arkle and Ben Stack as well as the coastal scenery surrounding Loch Laxford and Handa Island.

Ben Stack (721m) is a shapely remnant cone, Arkle (787m) a whale-back, and Foinaven (909m) a long slab broken into separate summits.

The summits and flanks of the latter two form a stark desert of white quartzite scree broken occasionally by lines of tiered crags.

The knock and lochan topography of the gneiss landscape extending to the west forms a suitable foil for this varied trio, as hard and uncompromising as the mountains themselves.

Its indented coast does not have the wooded inlets and bays that are found further south, but there are some sheltered beaches from which Handa Island with its towering sandstone cliffs and bird colonies can be seen.Much of the area is uninhabited and uncultivated, with only a few small crofting townships such as Fanagmore and Foindle at the coast, and isolated shooting lodges in the interior.