Overland Track

The Overland Track is Australia's flagship alpine walk — 65 km from Cradle Mountain in northern Tasmania to Lake St Clair, Australia's deepest lake, through the heart of the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park and the wider Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. It crosses glacially-carved valleys, ancient temperate rainforest, golden buttongrass moorlands, and alpine herb fields, with optional side trips to Mt. Ossa (1,617 m, Tasmania's highest summit) and several spectacular waterfalls.

The standard walk is 6 days, north-to-south. Day 1 climbs from Ronny Creek past Crater Lake and Marion's Lookout (with side-trip options up Cradle Mountain) to Waterfall Valley Hut. Subsequent days traverse the high plateau between glacial cirques, dropping past Lake Windermere, the Pelion Plains (where the Mt Ossa side-trip is a 3-hour return from Pelion Hut), and the waterfall cascade between Kia Ora and Bert Nichols (Windy Ridge) huts. Day 6 finishes at Narcissus Hut at the north end of Lake St Clair, where most walkers take a pre-booked ferry across the lake to Cynthia Bay; the alternative is a 17 km walk along the lakeshore. Cumulative elevation gain across the 6 days is around 2,000 m.

The Overland is permit-managed by Parks and Wildlife Service Tasmania. Between October 1 and May 31, walkers must book and walk north-to-south on consecutive days; outside the booking season (winter), the track is free but harder — snow on the plateau, ice, and difficulty in route-finding. Bookings open in July each year and the popular January–February dates sell out within days. The track fee (around A$280 per person) is in addition to the national park entry. Accommodation is in the six public huts (basic — wood platforms, no mattresses, propane heaters) or designated tent sites alongside. Tasmania's weather is famously fickle — snow can fall any month and the alpine plateau gets cold and wet even in midsummer. Pack proper waterproofs.