Destinations > MacDonnell Ranges

The chasm was named after Mrs Ida Standley, who in 1914 became the first schoolteacher in Alice Springs. When the school for Aboriginal children moved to Jay Creek in 1925, she moved too and was the first non-Aboriginal woman to see the chasm.

The walking track to the chasm winds among gums and cycads along a creekbed of spring-fed pools. Turn a corner and you arrive at the deep, narrow cleft in sheer towering walls of fiery red that you've probably seen a million times in tourist brochures. The best time to visit is midday when the sun is overhead, and the walk takes about 20 minutes each way.

Ellery Creek Big Hole
After rejoining Larapinta Drive, travel 6km before turning right on to Namatjira Drive. A lookout on the left-hand side of the road, 32km from the turn-off, gives a great view west along the backbone of the MacDonnells. The Ellery Creek Big Hole turn-off is 10km from the lookout.

This is known to the Aboriginal people as a special meeting place on the fish and honey ant dreaming trail and renowned worldwide for its geological significance.

The rock outcrops on either side of the creek tell of this region's geological history from 850 to 310 million years ago. Layers of rock, deposited horizontally through the different climatic eras of these millions of years, have been tipped vertically. A drive from the waterhole to the park boundary chronicles this ancient land's history in the strata of the rock itself.

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Serpentine Gorge
Follow Namatjira Drive for another 11km to reach Serpentine Gorge. The 2km of dirt track into the gorge can be rough. From the carpark it's a 1.3km walk to the southernmost gorge, which takes about half an hour. The narrow, winding gorge is home to many rare species of relict plants, such as cycads, cypress pines, red gums and ghost gums. The waterholes, particularly the permanent waters of the second gorge, are sanctuaries for fish and invertebrates.

Serpentine Chalet Ruins
Travel 6km along Namatjira Drive and another turn-off to the right leads to the ruins of Serpentine Chalet Bush Camp, numerous camping areas, Serpentine Chalet Dam and Chasm. The road is rough dirt and, after 2km, becomes 4WD only.

The Serpentine Chalet was constructed in the late 1950s, when tourism in the area was in its infancy. Back then, coach transport to the lodge, a WWII Blitz truck, would have taken all day to reach the Chalet over bone-jarring, deeply rutted tracks and steep creek crossings. Once there, in splendid isolation, the activity of choice was strapping on sturdy hiking boots, something the passing of 40 years hasn't changed.

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