Summit Trail, Mount Augustus

The very challenging 12 kilometre return Summit Trail takes walkers to the top of Mount Augustus, 852 kilometres north of Perth. This Top Trail is twice as high as Uluru (Ayres Rock), allowing the experienced walker to be rewarded with extensive views over the surrounding plain to the distant ranges. Located in the Mount Augustus National Park, Mount Augustus, or Burringurrah as it is known by the local Wadjari Aboriginal people, is about midway between the Great Northern and North West Coastal Highways. One of the most spectacular solitary peaks in the world, it rises 717 metres above a stony, red sand plain of arid scrubland - dominated by wattles, cassias and eremophilas - and is clearly visible from the air for more than 160 kilometres. The rock itself, which culminates in a small peak on a plateau, an area of 4,795 hectares. The difficult return walk to the top of the mount and back is well signposted and takes a full day to complete. For the less-hardy soul there are a variety of easier walk trails, drive trails, lookouts, swimming holes and picnic spots.