Mount Kosciuszko — Attraction in Munyang

Our hike to Mt Kosciuszko was an exhilarating experience! We took the Summit Trail on the way up and returned via the Main Range Walk, covering approximately 22 km in 8.5 hours.

Ascent via Summit Trail

The Summit Trail is a wide, well-maintained path with a gentle incline and stunning views throughout. About halfway, the Snowy River crossing is a perfect spot to take a break, relax, and snap some photos. After this point, the walk slows down a bit as fatigue sets in, with more stops for food and pictures. There are toilets at Seaman’s Hut and Rawson Pass, which is also where more hikers join from the Thredbo route. After Rawson Pass, the landscape suddenly opens up, revealing endless mountain layers. The final ascent to the summit is slightly steeper but not overly difficult.

Descent via Main Range Walk

The return journey via the Main Range Walk was significantly more challenging than the Summit Trail but far more scenic and rewarding. This route offers incredible variety—narrow ridgelines at Northcote Pass, sections of iron-grate walkways, and rugged granite trails. You ascend several peaks along the way, including Carruthers Peak (2,155 m), before a steady descent past Blue Lake Lookout to Snowy River crossing (downstream of the crossing at the Summit Trail)

The final 500m ascent back from Snowy River to Charlotte Pass was ironically the steepest and most demanding part of the entire hike!

Weather & Essentials

Temperature: Early March 10°C in Jindabyne at 7 AM, 2°C at Charlotte Pass at 8 AM, and around 8°C at the summit by noon. A long-sleeve t-shirt was sufficient for most of the hike, but the summit was windy, so I needed an extra jumper.

Water: We carried 5.8L between two people and used around 4.5L.

This hike is absolutely doable with a normal level of fitness. Highly recommend this adventure!

Timeline 8:15 Started from Charlotte Pass on Summit Trail 9:20 Snowy River crossing, 4.5 km 10:00 Seaman's Hut, 6 km 11:00 Rawson Pass, 8 km 11:55 Mt Kosciuszko summit, 9.3 km 12:20 Start descent, taking Main Range Walk 13:30 North Cote Pass 14:30 Carruthers Peak 15:30 Blue Lake Lookout 16:15 Snowy River crossing 16:45...

Summited Mt K ( Kosciuszko) one week before ski season started. We were lucky enough to get a good dusting of snow days prior which made for interesting hiking conditions. The chair lift was exciting and pretty quiet, no waiting in lines like I have heard can happen in ski season. Chilly winds and a faceful of snow ripped into us as clambered off the chairlift. Theres a shed like structure directly in front which I recommend using to tuck in your thermal undies and batten down any areas you dont want snow to sneak into ( life hack:back of pants and pant legs y'all). Now, the hike...My advice push on! Dont let the nipple hardening winds and labourous walking ( and or dredging/ dragging) your feet through the knee high snow deter you. After the first hill and before first ( professionally allocated lookout) y'all will find a metal grate path and this makes walking way way easier. Weather changes from sunny to snowy in a flash so dont be alarmed. The summit of Mt K, while Im sure is picturesque ( due to the mini blizzard we experienced while on summit all we could see was 50 meters infront of us, alas no rolling landscapes of the high country) the fun and novalty of hiking in the snow was reward enough. Now I can say I have climbed the smallest tallest mountain in Australia AND hiked in the snow. Have a coffee beforehand, take a sandwich ( on the walk not from the cafe, thats called stealing) and plough through till you make it. Mt K may be small compared to Everest but its all we got . Last one to the top is...

I’ve done this walk half a dozen times over the last 40 years — and it’s never been better maintained and signposted than it is right now. Gorgeous flowers, plentiful bird life, and views for miles.

Because several of us had done it before, our family group — 8 people from 9 to 59 — were appropriately layered, sun protected, snacked and watered, but we saw plenty of others on the trail who were suffering because they hadn’t taken even elemental care.

Just because you can — theoretically — walk to the top of Australia in a T-shirt doesn’t mean it’s a good idea, especially on a windy day with low cloud, even if it is technically “summer”. Just don’t. At the absolute minimum take a windproof top, sunglasses, good shoes (walking boots preferred) and a hat.

And do not succumb to the temptation of running downhill on the metal trail. Even a minor fall on that razor sharp (and thus effective even in snow/ice) surface will...