Where

Purnululu National Park
Great Northern Highway
Halls Creek

Hours

Open

Contact Details

Halls Creek Visitor Centre
Phone: 08 9168 6262

Cost and Booking

Entry and camping fees apply

Website

https://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/park/purnululu
There are two carparks at this end of the park – Echidna Chasm and Bloodwoods. A walk trail links the carparks, allowing visitors to combine several walks into one, or to choose one or two shorter walks.

Echidna Chasm Walk

This is a spectacular long, narrow chasm with striking colour variations, depending on the angle of the sun.
This walk takes you into the heart of this long, narrow chasm, following the path of a creek bed before entering the chasm itself.

The amazing conglomerate boulders strewn along the path provide a clue to the sedimentary origin of the Bungle Bungle Range. The soaring 200m high walls of the chasm rock are topped with Livistonia palms. As the chasm narrows, there is a short climb to negotiate, with some ladders to assist.

The most popular time to visit the Chasm is in the morning just before midday when sun shines vertically into the chasm and lights up the chasm walls.

The walk begins at the Echidna Chasm car park, 19 km north of the visitor centre. This walk is an easy to moderate 2km, 1 to 2 hour return walk with challenging short climb near the end. Echidna Gorge car park has shaded picnic areas and toilets.

Osmand Lookout

A trail from the Echidna Chasm car park leads to a lookout with views over the dry, wild and rugged Osmand Range. It is enjoyable at any time of day but spectacular in the early morning or late afternoon light.

Escarpment Trail

The Escarpment Trail links the Echidna Chasm and Bloodwoods carkparks, taking a route along the base of the escarpment. The walk trail is 3.6 kilometres along reasonably flat surfaces. From the Echidna Chasm turnoff, it’s 2.6km to the Mini Palms Gorge turnoff and a further 1km on to the Bloodwoods car park.

Bloodwoods Carpark

There are toilets and shaded picnic areas at the car park, 19km from the Purnululu Visitors Centre.

Mini Palms Walk

The Mini Palms trail gradually ascends to two viewing platforms within the gorge, the first overlooking an arena of rocks and palms. The second viewing platform is reached by a staircase and overlooks the deepest part of the gorge.

In one section of the trail, walkers will need to scramble through some boulders. Mini Palms walk is a moderately challenging Class 3, 5 kilometre, 3 hour return walk. The trail is relatively easy at the start but progressively gets more difficult.

Homestead Valley Walk

Homestead Valley Walk follows a path from the Bloodwoods car park, ending inside Homestead Valley Gorge and offering some beautiful views of the red rocks of the escarpment. There are some short steep sections along the trail, with handrails offering assistance to walkers and a shaded seating area at the end of the walk. This is a 4.4 kilometre return walk, and starts close to the Bloodwoods car park.
Image of the entrance to Echidna Chasm.