Walks, Talks and Trails
Overnight Walker Registration Scheme | Walking Group Size | Camping Fees | Information for School Groups | Access to Wallaby Gap | Section Maps & Information
Walking the Trail
The Trail is primarily intended to appeal to trekkers: people who are not wilderness or "map and compass" bushwalkers but nevertheless are capable and prepared to carry reasonable loads and camp out. The entire Trail will be passable to this type of walker. However, some sections are designed to slightly higher standards with additional facilities, in order to be attractive to people with less bushwalking experience. Section 1 of the Trail, from the Alice Springs Telegraph Station west to Simpsons Gap, is one such section.
Walkers can join or leave the Trail at a number of points accessible to motor vehicles at regular intervals along its route. In effect, the Trail comprises a series of shorter sections, each a one or two day walk. In this way people can choose the length of time spent on the Trail. Download an information sheet on the Larapinta Trail (pdf 0.6Mb).
Overnight Walker Registration Scheme
The Parks and Wildlife Service provides an Overnight Walker Registration Scheme to assist in ensuring you have a safe and enjoyable walk. We strongly recommend that you take advantage of the scheme. Please download the Overnight Walker Registration Scheme (pdf 195Kb) for further information or to register phone 1300 650 730.
Walking Group Size
If your walking group exceeds 8 members you are required to contact Parks and Wildlife with a trip plan and size of group. This will be posted on the Current Conditions for the benefit of other walkers.
Detailed information can be found on the Groups on the Trail page.
Some campgrounds within the West MacDonnell National Park attract camping fees: Ellery Creek Big Hole ($3.30 per person), Ormiston Gorge ($6.60 per person) and Redbank Gorge ($3.30 per person). It is a good idea to carry the correct amount of money as change is not available.
Other campsites along the Larapinta Trail are free and most are designated for Larapinta Trail users only. There is also a small charge if you are planning to camp at Standley Chasm.
The vehicle access track to Wallaby Gap has a locked gate. Larapinta Trail walkers who need to access the vehicle track can borrow a key to the gate by contacting:
Tourism Central Australia
Visitor Information Centre
60 Gregory Terrace
Alice Springs
Ph: 1800 645 199 or (08) 8952 5800
Monday to Friday (8.30am – 5.30pm)
Weekends and public holidays (9am – 4pm)
A $50 deposit is required to borrow a key, fully refundable upon its return.
Larapinta – a Trail for Walkers
The Trail is designed as a walking track only. Mountain bikes are not permitted on any section of the Larapinta Trail.
Please note that the map files are large files and may take some time to download, also note that maps print at a better quality than they view on the screen.
Work is currently being undertaken to upgrade the online A4 maps and information sheets. For most current maps and information purchase a copy of the Larapinta Trail Package.
Section 1
(Alice Springs Telegraph Station to Simpsons Gap)
- Information & Map (pdf 1.26Mb)
Description:
Section 1 is a 23.8 km overnight section of the Larapinta Trail. It is suitable for people of average fitness, used to walking long distances, with some steep ascents. Section 1 provides superb views over Alice Springs and the surrounding lowlands, as well as good bird watching opportunities.
Section 2
(Simpsons Gap to Jay Creek)
- Information & Map (pdf 1.04Mb)
Description:
Section 2 is a 24.5 km overnight section of the Larapinta Trail. It is suitable for people of average fitness, used to walking long distances, with some steep ascents. Some of the highlights for this section include passing through the home of one of the few Brushtail Possum colonies in Central Australia and exploring a landscape of rock outcrops over 2 000 million years old.
Section 3
(Jay Creek to Standley Chasm)
- Information & Map (pdf 941Kb)
Description:
Section 3 is a 13.6 km section of the Larapinta Trail and is only suitable for well-prepared and experienced walkers with a good level of fitness. This section is quite a challenging walk, through some of the steepest and most rugged country in the ranges. The low route is available to those with an average level of fitness.
Section 4
(Standley Chasm to Birthday Waterhole)
- Information & Map (pdf 1.02Mb)
Description:
Section 4 is an 17.7 km overnight section of the Larapinta Trail. It is only suitable for well-prepared and experienced walkers with a good level of fitness. The Trail follows the high quartzite ridges of the Chewings Range to the summit of Brinkley Bluff where walkers are rewarded with breathtaking views in all directions. Steeply descending from the Bluff, the Trail enters Stuart’s Pass, an upper branch of the Hugh River. It then follows this river valley to Birthday Waterhole.
Section 5
(Birthday Waterhole to Hugh Gorge)
- Information & Map (pdf 901Kb)
Description:
Section 5 is a 16 km overnight section of the Larapinta Trail. It is only suitable for well-prepared and experienced walkers with a good level of fitness. This challenging section of the Trail passes through Spencer Gorge, negotiates the spine of Razorback Ridge and then travels down narrow Linear Valley to the junction with the Hugh River. The Trail follows natural watercourses and it may be necessary to negotiate pools of water within Hugh Gorge.
Section 6
(Hugh Gorge to Ellery Creek)
- Information & Map (pdf 1.18Mb)
Description:
Section 6 is a 31.2 km overnight section of the Larapinta Trail. It is only suitable for well-prepared, experienced walkers with a good level of fitness and capable of walking long distances. This section traverses across the Alice Valley from Hugh Gorge, in the Chewings Range, to Ellery Creek Big Hole in the Heavitree Range. It is one of the longest sections of the Larapinta Trail.
Section 7
(Ellery Creek to Serpentine Gorge)
- Information & Map (pdf 1.35Mb)
Description:
Section 7 is a 13.8 km section of the Larapinta Trail and is suitable for people of average fitness, used to walking long distances, with some steep ascents. The sharp rocks on the first part of the Trail can be hard on tender feet but it provides the opportunity to learn something of the long geological history of the West MacDonnell Ranges. The abundance of birds, including the elusive Spinifexbird, is another highlight.
Section 8
(Serpentine Gorge to Serpentine Chalet Dam)
- Information & Map (pdf 1.4Mb)
Description:
Section 8 is a 13.4 km section of the Larapinta Trail and is only suitable for well-prepared and experienced walkers with a good level of fitness. It offers exhilarating views of the high quartzite ridgelines that typify the West MacDonnell Ranges, including Haasts Bluff and Mt Zeil (the highest point in the Northern Territory).
Section 9
(Serpentine Chalet Dam to Ormiston Gorge)
- Information & Map (pdf 1.2Mb)
Description:
Section 9 is a 28.6 km overnight section of the Larapinta Trail. It is only suitable for well-prepared and experienced walkers with a good level of fitness. This is one of the more difficult sections of the Trail taking you into the rugged heart of the range country. There is no reliable surface water along the way, so people contemplating this section must be prepared to carry a heavy pack with a considerable amount of drinking water.
Section 10
(Ormiston Gorge to Finke River)
- Information & Map (pdf 1.25Mb)
Description:
Section 10 is a 9.1km section of the Larapinta Trail that can easily be walked in a day. It is suitable for people of average fitness, used to walking long distances, with some steep ascents. This is one of the shorter sections of the Larapinta Trail. This section winds through rolling limestone hills at the headwaters of the Finke River, one of the world’s oldest rivers.
Section 11
(Finke River to Redbank Gorge)
- Information & Map (pdf 965Kb)
Description:
Section 11 is a 26 km overnight section of the Larapinta Trail and is only suitable for well-prepared and experienced walkers with a good level of fitness. The first part of the Trail meanders across low Spinifex-covered hills with the spectacular backdrop of Mt Sonder, then crosses the Davenport River and climbs to a hilltop lookout. It descends to shady, tranquil Rocky Bar Gap, at the foot of Mt Sonder, passes through this gap and travels along the southern flank of Mt Sonder to Redbank Creek.
Section 12
(Redbank Gorge to Mt Sonder and back)
- Information & Map (pdf 1.3Mb)
Description:
Section 12 is a 15.8 km return section of the Larapinta Trail and is only suitable for well-prepared and experienced walkers with a good level of fitness. The arduous climb to the peak is well worth the effort and walkers will be rewarded with breathtaking views in all directions. Ranges, plains, valleys and salt lakes create magnificent vistas. This is a place to experience the grandeur of the desert landscape.
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