Where

Nangar National Park in Country NSW

Distance

8km return

Time suggested

5 - 6hrs

Grade

Grade 5

Trip Intention Form

It's a good idea to let someone know where you're going. Fill in a trip intention form to send important details about your trip to your emergency contact.

What to
bring

Hat, sunscreen, drinking water

Please note

Summer is generally too hot for bushwalking in this park.

If you’re reasonably fit, why not take on Mount Murga walking track? It’s a varied and attractive walk up the side of Mount Murga and along the ridgeline to the plateau and lookout at the top. From here, you can see the extensive open farmland lying to the north of the park.

Follow an old bulldozer track up the hill through red stringybark and scribbly gum woodland, and in spring or early summer, keep your eyes open for flowering orchids, such as spotted doubletail or midget greenhood. A real treat may await you at the summit, where wattles and goodenia light up the surrounds with bright yellow hues.

Wildlife such as kangaroos, wallabies and many bird species can be seen in the surrounding vegetation. Listen out for animals – even if you don’t see them, you may hear a kangaroo as it hops away or birds calling in the treetops or shrubs.

For directions, safety and practical information, see visitor info

Visitor info

Maps and downloads

Learn more

A refuge for wildlife

Amid the extensive farmlands of the central west, Nangar is home to many sedentary and migratory birds and local native animals. Among many bird species are several birds of prey such as the peregrine falcon, wedge-tailed eagle and brown falcon, which use the cliff face along the northern boundary for nesting and perching. The park is also home to the eastern grey kangaroo, common wallaroo, red-necked wallaby, swamp wallaby, little mastiff-bat and chocolate wattled bat. You may also spot the southern rainbow skink, eastern long-necked tortoise and spotted grass frog.

An ever-changing landscape

Ranging from the undulating hills in the south of the park to the long cliff line of red siltstone on the northern boundary - and the 770m-high Mount Nangar - the park offers a great variety of landscapes and views. Terarra Creek valley is open with wide creek flats and gentle slopes and the upper tributaries of Mogong Creek contains several natural springs. You'll see from the high vantage points of the park that the valley floor and more accessible lower slopes have been cleared by grazing and logging. Old growth forest is found in the steeper areas, but under national park protection, the park's vegetation communities will grow ever stronger.

Historic treasure

Gold was discovered around Eugowra in the 1860s, drawing miners and bushrangers, including the Gardener and Ben Hall gangs who roamed the area that the park now covers. Chinese miners lived here in the early 1900s, prospecting for copper. Historical remains in the park include remnants of gardens and orchards of Dripping Rock homestead, lost to fire in recent years, and its piggery, ruined hay shed and yards.

Wiradjuri country

A vast area of the central west of New South Wales, including Nangar National Park, is Wiradjuri country. Evidence suggests that Nangar Range has been an important landmark in Aboriginal culture and that the surrounding area was occupied for long periods. Places of significance include archaeological sites containing artefacts, stone scatters, quarries and scar trees.