Little Black Mountain Walk

Easy

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A 5.2km return walk starting at the Belconnen Way entrance to Black Mountain Nature Reserve, using management trails through open forest with orchids and views over the parliamentary triangle.

☰ Trail details

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Distance

4.68 km

Est. time

1 hr 24 min

Elevation gain

128 m

Route type

Out & back

✦ Plan route

Steepest stretch: +21m over ~300m (around the 4.2km mark)

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In an emergency

Call 000 for police, fire or ambulance — Australia's emergency number works even with a weak signal, and without a SIM if any carrier has coverage.

You're in Black Mountain Nature Reserve, Black Mountain, Canberra, ACT. Mobile reception in this area is not guaranteed — this is exactly why the offline map and GPS position on this page work without signal.

Tell someone your plan and expected return time before you set off. A PLB is the most reliable backup where there's no reception at all.

Tracks & plans

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Species to look for on this trail

Ancient trees and rare flora confirmed in this park. Spot one? Add it as a sighting pin below.

Purple Donkey OrchidDocumented on this trail

Diuris punctata

Endangered — ACT: Restricted Trade Species, VIC: Endangered▾

Endangered — ACT: Restricted Trade Species, VIC: Endangered

Diuris punctata, commonly known as purple donkey orchid is a species of orchid which is endemic to south-eastern continental Australia. It has two grass-like leaves and up to ten purple or mauve flowers, often with darker, sometimes yellow marks. A yellow form from near Guyra is probably now extinct.

How to spot it

Diuris punctata is a tuberous, perennial herb with two linear leaves 150–300 mm (6–10 in) long, 3–4 mm (0.1–0.2 in) wide and folded lengthwise. Up to ten flowers 50–60 mm (2.0–2.4 in) wide are borne on a flowering stem 300–600 mm (10–20 in) tall. The flowers are purple or mauve, often with darker, sometimes yellow marks. The dorsal sepal is more or less erect, elliptic to egg-shaped, 10–18 mm (0.4–0.7 in) long and 8–14 mm (0.3–0.6 in) wide. The lateral sepals are greenish-brown, linear to lance-

Family Orchidaceae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Diuris punctata