Serpentine Gorge is one of the gorges in the

West MacDonnell Ranges The MacDonnell Ranges, or Tjoritja in Arrernte, is a mountain range located in southern Northern Territory. MacDonnell Ranges is also the name given to an interim Australian bioregion broadly encompassing the mountain range, with an area of .< ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

. It is located approximately 100 kilometres west of

Alice Springs Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...

along the

Larapinta Trail The Larapinta Trail is an extended walking track in the Northern Territory of Australia. Its total length covers from east to west, with the eastern end at Alice Springs and the western end at Mount Sonder, one of the territory's highest mou ...

. It comprises two gorges created by a south flowing creek which has cut through two ridges of Heavitree Quartzite. The gorge is home to some rare Central Australian plants such as the Centralian flannel-flower''Northern Territory and Central Australia'', Lonely Planet, 2006 and cycads (the '' Macrozamia macdonnellii''). There is a semi-permanent waterhole guarding the entrance to the gorge.

Tourism

There is a 1.3 kilometre walk along a service road, or alternatively along the creek bed, to the gorge, and a short steep climb to a lookout. Section 7 of the Larapinta Trail starts at

Ellery Creek Big Hole Ellery may refer to: * Ellery (duo), an American pop group * Ellery (given name) * Ellery (surname) * Ellery, New York, a US town * Ellery, Illinois, a US town See also * Ellery Lake, a lake in Ontario, Canada * Mount Ellery, Australia * Mou ...

and ends here. Section 8 of the trail goes from here to Serpentine Chalet Dam. Nearby are the ruins of Serpentine Chalet which was a late 1950s/early 1960s Ansett-Pioneer tourist venture. Lack of water and the remote location on an unsealed road brought about its demise. All that remains now are a concrete slab and other floor foundations.Borthwick, John (2007) "The ripple effect"
''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...

'', 8 September 2007

References

{{reflist Canyons and gorges in the Northern Territory