Country: Australia
Region: Western Australia
Outdoor Activity: Hiking
Duration: one to three hours
Sustainable tourism rating:
The Pinnacles Desert (Nambung National Park), 200 km north of Perth, will surprise you with its unique geological formations. 

Indeed, these rocky peaks that seem to grow in the desert are unique. Geologists have issued several hypotheses to explain the formation of these rocks in the desert. The most widespread is that a forest grew there several hundreds of thousands of years ago. These rocks were the result of the burned trees.



Aboriginal legends are much more legendary. They tell that it was forbidden for young men to venture into the desert and that these rocks are the bodies of those who have defied the ban and who never returned alive to their families.



Nowadays, you can go without no worry, just bring enough water with you and the desert is yours to discover. You can choose between a walking trail 1.2 km or a loop of 4 km by car (no need to have a four wheel drive, a normal vehicle is good enough). You can also choose to walk if you are a real Sportrotter !







We advise you to get away from the tourist crowd and let you carried away by the desert`s mysteries to enjoy this place (do not venture very far alone .. otherwise take a compass). You can contemplate all this rock formations and take beautiful pictures





We recommend you to visit this park at different moments of the day because the colors will be different. We prefer the sunrise and the sunset (remember to book your accommodation in advance if you want to sleep there because it is forbidden to sleep in the park).



A few minutes from the park entrance, you can enjoy a swim and picnic spot at Hangover Bay. You can also dive into the clear waters of Jurian Bay Marine Park and discover the local fauna snorkeling. With a little luck, you may even see dolphins or seals.


The park entrance is $ 12 (or free if you purchased the WA Parks Pass for unlimited access in all state parks for 1 year).



The pros:
– Unique landscape not far from the sea with many outdoor activities to discover the surroundings.
– Nature Activity 200km from Perth.

The Cons:
– We advise you to avoid the desert during the hottest hours because it is not always fun to count the number of flies that are around you…you won`t have enough fingers to count them.



– The site is busiest on weekends because many families come from Perth just for the day