Palm Valley
Palm Valley
Deep in the heart of Central Australia, thousands of palm trees grow amongst towering red sandstone cliffs. Their slender trunks stretch impossibly high, crowned with delicate green fronds that seem almost at odds with the rugged red rock surrounding them. It's an extraordinary sight in a part of Australia better known for its dry riverbeds and arid landscapes. This is Palm Valley.
Quick Details
Total Length: Up to 13km (depending on where you start)
Elevation: Up to 150m total
Grade: Moderate
Best season: Late autumn to early spring
Suitable for kids: Yes, although the longer walk may be difficult for young children
Starting the Trail
I’ve just arrived at the Palm Valley picnic area. The day is already scorching hot and there’s no time to lose — I have a long hike in front of me. I throw on my pack and head out along the road to the trailhead. You can drive along the road, but I’ve heard that it’s quite rough so I’d rather walk it than risk getting the rental car stuck in a position I can’t get out of.
The road walk will add an extra 8km to my total for the day, but it’s mostly flat and I can make good time. Aside from the heat it’s not a bad looking hike at all — there’s such a strong contrast between the dark red of the sandstone in the distance and the bright blue sky.
Cycad Gorge
It feels like no time at all has passed when I find myself at Cycad Gorge. I decide to go down to the water to get a better look — also because I can see shade near the far wall that looks like a good place to rest for a minute. I guess that side is probably shaded for most of the day because that’s where all the cycads grow.
If you’ve never seen a cycad, imagine a palm tree that never quite got around to growing a trunk, and you've got a pretty good idea of what a cycad looks like. These prehistoric oddities have been around since before the dinosaurs. They can live for centuries, and some of the ones here in the gorge are estimated to be between 300 and 500 years old.
I sit down in the shade to eat a snack. Curious lizards pop out from the rocks to see what I’m doing and disappear just as fast. I decide maybe it would be better to stand — just in case a different kind of reptile pokes its head out…
From my spot in the shade, I can see a beat-up old Hilux stop on the road. A woman clad head to toe in velvet gets out, sets up a tripod and starts dancing for a camera. Proof that once again, you never really know what you’re going to find on a hiking trail… Once she leaves, and I can be sure I’m not about to walk headfirst into a TikTok dance video, I head back to the road to continue on.
Palm Valley
The road from Cycad Gorge to the trailhead is a lot rougher and narrower in parts, and I'm glad I decided to walk — although the velvet lady managed to make it all the way in the Hilux, albeit with a bit of help from others on the road. I think this will be my new mantra for life — if the velvet lady has the confidence to drive all the way to Palm Valley, then you can do anything.
There are two options for trails once you leave the trailhead — the short Arankaia Walk or the longer Mpulungkinya Walk. I went with the long hike option because, over the last few months, any time I've mentioned Palm Valley to someone who's been here before, they’ve all said the same thing: “Oh! Palm Valley….” And then they’d stare off into the distance like they were remembering something really good. So I had high expectations that this was somewhere worth seeing.
The trail wanders through soft sand, over boulders and rock ledges, hugging the south wall of the valley. There’s almost no shade anywhere along the trail. The ghost gums growing along the walls provide a little shade, but what's really incredible is seeing how their roots disappear straight into the sandstone rather than spreading out across the ground.
The palm trees are quite a distance away, closer to the opposite valley wall. Like the ghost gums, they also seem to have sprouted straight out of sheer rock. Although I can’t see their bases clearly from here so I could be wrong.
Through the Red Cabbage Palms
Along the trail I’ve noticed these small patches of water, only a centimetre or so deep. And now that I’m closer to the palms and the centre of the valley, there are quite a few shallow pools of still water. I’m guessing they’re fed by water seeping out of the sandstone and emerging on the surface of the riverbed. That’s probably how the ghost gums and cabbage palms have continued to thrive here — by burying their roots deep into the rock crevices where the water is. It's 36 degrees, though, so I'm not about to conduct a hydrological survey.
I went to jump over a particularly dark and slimy pool when a low palm frond managed to snag on the cord between my phone and power bank, ripping my phone out of my pocket and straight into the water… Thank god I saw it fall in there, otherwise I never would have found it again. I’m just glad it was my phone and not Jess’ camera…
The best decision I made was to hike to the end of the valley. The palm trees are much denser towards the end and you actually have the chance to walk between them. There’s around 3,000 red cabbage palms in the valley — someone has actually done a palm census head count to get that number.
Towards the end of the valley, the Mpulungkinya trail takes you up to the top of the south wall and heads back towards the trailhead. But I have exactly zero interest in schlepping across the ridge in this heat with no shade. So when I got to the end, I turned back and returned through the valley instead.
So much about this place seems unreal. The centuries-old cycads, palm trees in a desert, ghost gums growing halfway up a rock wall, pools of water that haven’t evaporated despite the heat. I can understand now why so many people struggled to put into words what this place is like when I asked them about it.
I finished my hike by climbing up the stairs on the Arankaia Walk to the ridge so I could see the valley from above. And I'm really glad I did, because from up there I could finally appreciate just how many palms were growing amongst the sandstone below. And then it was back along the road to the picnic area in time for sunset. But that’s another story…
Getting There
Palm Valley is located in Finke Gorge National Park, approximately 138km west of Alice Springs.
From Alice Springs, follow Larapinta Drive west towards Hermannsburg, then take the access road into Finke Gorge National Park.
The road into the national park requires a high-clearance 4WD, with the final section beyond the picnic area becoming particularly challenging.
Visitors can drive to the Palm Valley trailhead in a suitable 4WD, or walk from the picnic area as I did.
For more information about the road conditions and what to expect, check out our Trail Tips and Tricks article, Driving to Palm Valley.
Tips and Tricks
From the trailhead, the Arankaia Walk is around 2km. The Mpulungkinya Walk is around 5km. The road from the picnic area to the trailhead is around 4km each way.
Start early in the day and take lots of water. Even if you manage to drive all the way to the trail head, there’s next to no shade on this hike.
Please stay on the track to avoid trampling seedlings and damaging the habitat.
Check road conditions before travelling. Visitors from outside the Northern Territory will need a parks pass to visit.