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Cocoa Mountain's pale blue frontage stands beneath a portico of white columns.
Sutherland

Cocoa Mountain Balnakeil

A chocolate shop and café in the old buildings at Balnakeil, by Durness, making its own truffles and chocolates and pouring a hot chocolate it calls The Best.

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Welcome

Just north-west of Durness, on the road to Balnakeil beach, a long low building clad in pale blue has a white portico with two words across it: cocoa mountain.

Chocolates and truffles are made by hand here, a long way from anywhere cocoa grows.

The café pours a rich hot chocolate that the makers call, simply, The Best, and there are croissants, cakes and a rocky road made with ginger biscuits. A hot chocolate with a slice of cake and four small chocolates makes a good stop after a walk. The selection of chocolates runs wide, vegan ones among them.

Sit inside or, on a fine day, outside; dogs are welcome. It opens every day from nine until six, and the long white sands of Balnakeil Bay are just along the road.

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Arrives at 5am every day.

A free morning email to see what’s on this week, catch up on what’s happening in Scotland and find somewhere new to go.

The Daily for 11 November, from Scotland with love. The broken stone walls of a lochside castle rise from a small tree-covered island, autumn foliage glowing orange against the dark water and forested hillside beyond.
Not farBettyhill Tourist Information & Cafe20 milesSee itBettyhill Tourist Information & Cafe

Before you go

Open every day, 9am to 6pm.

Where
Balnakeil, by Durness, IV27 4PT.
Hours
Every day, 9am to 6pm.
Known for
Hot chocolate and handmade truffles.

Opening hours

Their website
Monday
9am–6pm
Tuesday
9am–6pm
Wednesday
9am–6pm
Thursday
9am–6pm
Friday
9am–6pm
Saturday
9am–6pm
Sunday
9am–6pm

Eaten here? Tell others what to order and when to go, and the best go on this page with your name.

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Where it is

At Balnakeil, just north-west of Durness, IV27 4PT.

Close byDurness.
  1. Balnakeil Craft VillageBalnakeil Craft VillageStudios and shops round the chocolate shop.Under a mile 1 min by road
  2. Balnakeil BeachBalnakeil BeachA long white beach just along the road.Under a mile 2 min by road
  3. Balnakeil Church's roofless walls above a kirkyard of old stones, the bay beyond.Balnakeil ChurchA roofless, ivy-clad church of 1619 in its old kirkyard above Balnakeil Bay, near Durness, on the site of a much older church.Under a mile 1 min by road
  4. DurnessDurnessUnder a mile 2 min by road
  5. Durness Golf ClubDurness Golf ClubA nine-hole links at Balnakeil, on the edge of Faraid Head, with a second set of tees for eighteen and a par 3 played across a sea inlet.Under a mile as the crow flies
  6. Vast limestone cave arch with a wooden viewing shelter beside the streamSmoo CaveA great sea cave on the edge of Durness.2 miles 4 min by road
Directions
Wooden viewing platform inside a large cave with rocky floor and green-lit wallsAttractionsSmoo Cave2.2 miles
Pink boulder overlooking moorland lochs and coastline from a Scottish hillsideAttractionsKyle of Durness2.6 miles
Tumbled stone walls of Ceannabeinne township on a green slope in evening light, the sea beyond.AttractionsCeannabeinne Village Ruins3.4 miles
A white church-like building sits at the foot of a rocky, grass-covered hillside, sheep grazing on the slope above.DurnessCeannabeinne CottageSleeps 4 · 3.6 miles
Rocky headland and grassy dunes above a sandy beach with calm seaAttractionsCeannabeinne Beach3.9 miles
Salmon farm cages and a workboat in a loch below snow-covered hillsAttractionsLoch Eriboll Viewpoint7.0 miles as the crow flies
A curved timber-roofed house catches the evening light beside a sea loch, gorse and heather covering the foreground.LaidShore CottageSleeps 2 · 7.7 miles
A curved timber house glows with lit windows at dusk, set low into a grassy hillside.Port na ConHill CottageSleeps 2 · 7.7 miles
River winding through a glen beneath cloud-covered hillsAttractionsRiver Dionard9.3 miles

Recommend to a friend

Stay nearby

Places to stay near the chocolate shop, and when each is next free.

A white church-like building sits at the foot of a rocky, grass-covered hillside, sheep grazing on the slope above.Ceannabeinne Cottage
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Durness
  • 3 miles from Cocoa Mountain
Free 18–25 JunA curved timber house glows with lit windows at dusk, set low into a grassy hillside.Hill Cottage
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Port na Con
  • 5 miles from Cocoa Mountain
Check datesA curved timber-roofed house catches the evening light beside a sea loch, gorse and heather covering the foreground.Shore Cottage
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Laid
  • 5 miles from Cocoa Mountain
Check datesA stone cottage with two chimneys sits above a loch, a mountain rising behind and a dry stone wall enclosing the lawn.Keeper's Cottage
  • Sleeps 6
  • In Hope
  • 7 miles from Cocoa Mountain
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in SutherlandAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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