Visiting Mount Elephant in victoria, Australia a must-see dormant volcano

Walking up Mount Elephant, a dormant volcano.

Mount Elephant in the western district of victoria - an awe-inspiring dormant volcano.

Mount Elephant in the western district - is a huge dormant volcano with awe-inspiring views from all directions.

You know how occasionally you get lucky? You visit a place you’ve never heard of and that barely anyone seems to know about… and it turns out to be one of the most enchanting places you’ve ever laid eyes on? Well, that’s Mount Elephant.

Mount Elephant is a 380-metre-high (1,250 ft) conical breached scoria cone slapped down in the middle of the pancake-flat western district of Victoria.

Mount Elephant views

While 390 metres isn’t actually that tall, the mountain is visible for miles because there just aren’t any other significant hills in the area - apparently, during the early days of European colonisation it had the nickname “the swagman’s lighthouse”.

Mount Elephant is one of those spots that you just have to visit to understand just how magical it is - photos don’t do it justice. When you stand on the rim of the crater you feel as though you are right up near the sky, high enough to touch the clouds. Inside the crater, the steep slopes, strong winds, and lack of a visible horizon create a disconcerting sense of vertigo. It’s an almost otherworldly feeling.

In fact, if you sit yourself down in the shade of one of the few trees inside the crater and spend a few moments just soaking it in, you could almost imagine that you’re on an island floating in the sky and if you climb up to the rim and look over the edge you’d see nothing but blue sky all around and below. Sounds a bit over the top? Well, it’s that kind of place.

Our trip to the unusual Mount Elephant

We’ve visited Mount Elephant several times now, being just one hour drive from Ballarat, and always find it a rather enchanting and unusual place to visit. This time that we visited, we saw 3 kangaroos jumping over one of the bare hills of the crater, and 2 eagles gliding around the crater. Another time we encountered a small wallaby near the base of the walk. One thing that is consistent is that it’s always quite windy!

The walk up to the crater is steep and long - pace yourself and wear grippy shoes. There are hiking poles you can borrow from the centre which may be good if you’re unsteady on your pegs.

At the information centre you’ll also find a volunteer who you can have a chat, some displays about the history of the crater, and some interesting artefacts. There are also several toilets, including ambulant (although walking up to the crater isn’t really accessible.)

The Details:

Cost: Free entry
Opening times: Every Sunday 1-4pm (except total fire ban days)
Dogs: Allowed, must be on a leash
Website: https://www.mountelephant.com.au/visit-us