Yarrangobilly Caves

The Yarrangobilly Caves are a set of caves smack bang in the middle of Kosciuszko National Park, in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales. The region has some caves that have been forming for around from a few hundred thousand years old all the way back to several million years.

Understand

Caves House, c. 1900

The not-so-large visitor centre today

History

The first European to visit the caves was when a stockman John Bowman came across the complex in 1834. However, in 1904–50, Leo James Hoad was associated with the caves, serving as the official caretaker of the caves from 1919 to 1946. He also discovered Jillabenan Cave in 1910.

Since then, various other caves have been discovered – the mountainous terrain allows the entrance to some caves easy to find, but there are still new underwater caves being discovered, including a recent discovery in the early 2020s.

Landscape

Geologically, these caves are diverse. Though not as old as the rivalled Jenolan Caves in the Blue Mountains, these caves were formed in 440-million-year-old limestone, though not all were formed at the same time. The two main caves on show, Jersey and Jillabenan Caves, were formed over 500,000 years apart (Jersey formed a few years before).

For cave enthusists, Jersey Cave features a 4-metre stalagmite named Cleopatra's Needle that touches the ceiling.

Flora and fauna

Yarrangobilly has plenty of bare-nosed wombats and striking blue and black superb fairy wrens. Platypuses can be found in the river, but being nocturnal and aquatic you're highly unlikely to spot one.

Climate

The caves are at an elevation of 978 m. Summer highs can reach 30°C, while winter lows can go below zero, with snow possible but rare.

Visitor information centre

• 1 Yarrangobilly Caves Visitor Centre, 50 Yarrangobilly Caves Rd, Yarrangobilly, ☏ +61 2 6454 9597, yarrangobilly.caves@environment.nsw.gov.au. 9AM-5PM. More specialised in cave tours, walks, but can help you with hiking in nearby areas as well (ideally, you'd have to go to the Tumut Visitor Centre to do that, but Yarrangobilly can help too). (updated Oct 2021)

Apart from this visitor information centre in Yarrangobilly, the nearest ones are in Tumut or Jindabyne. See the Kosciuszko National Park for more about this.

Get in

Yarrangobilly is quite isolated, with car being the only option to get in, via the long and windy Snowy Mountains Highway. Carrying snow chains is strongly recommended in winter.

Most visitors from Sydney or Melbourne will arrive via the Hume Highway, turning off to Tumut. From here head southeast and up the Great Diving Range on the Snowy Mountains Highway (B72) for about an hour. After an hour / 86 km, turn right onto Yarrangobilly Caves Road. The turn-off is well signposted.

If coming from points south or east (Jindabyne, Canberra), drive to Cooma, then head west on the Snowy Mountains Highway for 1.5 hours, and turn onto Yarrangobilly Caves Road.

The final 5 km from the highway to the park entrance is down a dusty gravel road with steep corners. It's passable by 2WD, but not suitable for caravans. There are separate one-way only roads to enter and exit, but roads within the park are two-way and quite narrow.

Fees and permits

Parking at Yarrangobilly costs $4 per vehicle per day, which can be paid at the visitor centre. The only exceptions are if:

• You've paid the fee when going to Thredbo/Perisher, Khancoban or Mount Selwyn. Those fees cover the entire Kosciuszko National Park.
• You have an all parks pass which covers all NSW National Parks, including Kosciuszko National Park. Multi Parks Passes aren't valid in Yarrangobilly.

Get around

Ground map of Yarrangobilly

You only have two ways to get around: by car or on foot. If you're camping at Yarrangobilly Village campground, you'll definitely need a car. There is no way for a pedestrian to access the caves, and especially given how the road is unsealed, narrow, and has steep elevation drops, this poses a safety issue for both you and an oncoming car.

Yarrangobilly's road network is mostly narrow and centred on two one-way loops. The first loop is the loop that connects Yarrangobilly with the Snowy Mountains, and the other loop connects the visitor centre and accommodation/facilities with most of the show caves. Make sure to slow down – do not try and drive more than 30 km/h (19 mph) at max because that's a perfect recipe for disaster.

Walking between the caves would be somewhat exhausting on a summer's day, but try and minimise using a car. For example, there is little reason to take your car from the visitor centre, only to drive it for a few metres to the South Glory Cave because if you had to go back, you'd have to travel via one of the two loops. At the same time, do take your car from the visitor centre to Jersey or Jilla because it would be tedious to walk uphill (and there are parking slots in front of the caves).

See

The eponymous Glory Hole

Jersey Cave is one of Australia's most colourful caves

The thing to see at Yarrangobilly Caves is, of course, the caves. Inside the caves it's 10°C all year around, so bring some jackets with you.

All caves require tickets, which can be purchased at the visitor centre. Discounted tickets for visiting multiple caves are available. South Glory Cave can be visited on your own, but all the others are accessible only by guided tour.

• 1 North Glory Cave, Castle Walk. This tour takes about 1.5 hours and both starts and ends at the North Glory Cave entrance. At times, this cave is described as being the underworld of Kosciuszko National Park including places like Smugglers Passage, or Helictite Chamber which has some jaw dropping crystal formations, and Devils Kitchen, with its trove of stunning calcite crystals. $26 per adult, $20 per concession (includes school children), and $78 per family (2 adults and 2 children). (updated Oct 2021)
• 2 South Glory Cave, Castle Walk. 9:30AM–4PM. The South Glory Cave was first explored by Europeans in 1834, and you'll be lost for words when you see the large amount of limestone chambers, decorations and rock piles. Motion-activated sensors turn lights on and off as you advance through the cave on your own, adding to the sense of mystery and awe. Walking through takes around 30-45 minutes, including climbing 200-odd steps. $22 per adult, $18 per concession (inc. school age children), $70 per family (2 adults and 2 children), children under 5 free. (updated Oct 2021)
• 3 Jersey Cave. This cave is one of the most colourful caves in Australia, having formed over a long long period of 1.5 million years. $26 per adult, $22 per concession (inc. school age children), $82 per family (2 adults and 2 children), Children under 5 free. (updated Oct 2021)
• 4 Jillabenan Cave. It's somewhat like Jersey Cave, but there's more in that cave compressed into a smaller space. It was Australia's first wheelchair accessible cave, but many of its railings are designed for wheelchairs of the 1980s, not a wheelchair made in 2024. $26 per adult, $22 per concession (inc. school age children), $82 per family (2 adults and 2 children), Children under 5 free. (updated Oct 2021)

Do

Thermal pools at Yarrangobilly Caves

• 1 Yarrangobilly Caves thermal pool. Two concrete pools naturally heated to a constant 27°C all year round, more "municipal pool" than "hot springs", but fun just the same. The hot water runs off to a nearby creek where you can also go for a swim, with thermoclines ranging from teeth-chatteringly freezing to nice and warm. It's a 700-m steep walk downhill from the nearest car park; alternatively, there is a 1.1-km riverside trail from South Glory cave. Free. (updated Apr 2024)
• Bluff Lookout Walk (coloured  on map). A 2-kilometre trail rated as a Grade 4 trail, taking approximately 45 minutes to 1.25 hours. It takes you to Bluff Lookout, one of the most spectacular lookouts overlooking the valleys of the Snowy Mountains. Many do this trail before or after touring the Jillabenan Cave. (updated Oct 2021)
• Castle Cave Walk (Castle Walk (coloured   on map)). An easy 3.2-km (return) walk, passing South Glory Cave and Castle Cave, with the common sight being dry stone walls and limestone cliffs closer to Mill Creek Gorge. (updated Oct 2021)
• Glory Farm Walk ((coloured   on map)). A 2.8-km trail (return, including Thermal Pool Trail) to Henry Harris’ Glory Hole Farm. The farm here is where Henry Harris grew meat and vegetables in the late 19th century for the farmers that worked in the area. Little of the farm remain, but you can still clearly see the old oven and the cemetery. (updated Oct 2021)
• Yarrangobilly River Walk (River Walk (coloured   on map)). A 3-kilometre (1.9 mi) stroll along the Yarrangobilly River. The walk takes between 45 and 75 minutes, but links back up with the thermal pool – what's better than going for a dip after a bushwalk? (updated Oct 2021)

Buy

The visitor centre has a large range of souvenirs ranging from fridge magnets to boomerangs to 4WD tracks, or what you'd find at any gift shop at any national park.

Eat and drink

The visitor centre sells some small snacks and some soft drinks but apart from that, there are no restaurants, bars, or pubs et cetera in Yarrangobilly. The nearest are in Talbingo (30 min north) or Adaminaby (30 min south), but for more variety, Cooma or Tumut will be your best bet (both are an hour's drive from Yarrangobilly).

Potable tap water is available at the thermal pool and the campground.

Sleep

Accommodation in Yarrangobilly is limited to three lodges and a campground run by NSW National Parks. The three lodges do get booked out quickly; if that does happen, the nearest accommodation can be found in Adaminaby, Talbingo, Tumut, or if you're okay with a one-hour drive, Cooma.

Lodging

• 1 Lyrebird Cottage, 23 Lyrebird Trail, ☏ 1300 072 757 (domestic). Check-in: 3–5PM, check-out: 10AM. Built in 2011, this eco-friendly cottage comes with two bedrooms and can handle up to four guests, this cottage is quite surrounded in wildlife after dark – an experience not quite like any other. And it's not too far from Yarrangobilly either. (updated Oct 2021)
• 2 Yarrangobilly Caves House: East and West wings, 51 Yarrangobilly Caves Rd. Check-in: 3–5PM, check-out: 10AM. A large guesthouse, with 9 rooms, can cater to up to 14 guests. This house also won commendations for the Unique Accommodation category in the Canberra Region Tourism Awards in 2015 and 2016. (updated Oct 2021)
• 3 Yarrangobilly Caves House: Guest rooms, 51 Yarrangobilly Caves Rd. Check-in: 3–5PM, check-out: 10AM. If you're up for more extensive accommodation, consider the guest rooms. These rooms make up a part of the original 1917 section of the house and can cater to up to 24 people and the only thing you will need to bring is food. You'll see some good views from the porch – something ideal if you're a limestone buff. (updated Oct 2022)

Camping

Camping by the Yarrangobilly River in 2012

• 4 Yarrangobilly Village campground, Snowy Mountains Hwy, toll-free: 1300 072 757 (domestic). A quiet camping spot close to the Snowy Mountains Highway by the Yarrangobilly River, but has no marked sites. As the campground is by the river, you can try and go fishing in the otherwise-narrow river. $6 booking fees apply. (updated Oct 2021)

Backcountry

Yarrangobilly's unwieldy terrain makes the area unsuitable for backcountry camping – only camp within the campground.

Stay safe

The Yarrangobilly area was badly hit by bushfires in 2019-2020. Keep an eye on bushfire warnings in summer.

Go next

Your only option is to get out of Yarrangobilly through other parts of Kosciuszko National Park. The next closest POI in the park is Mt Selwyn, while the nearest towns and cities are Tumut and Cooma.

Otherwise, if you're looking to go to some ski resorts, Thredbo and Perisher are the most established ones in the park.

Routes via Yarrangobilly Caves

Tumut ← Talbingo ←

W B72 E

→ Adaminaby → Cooma