Stirling Range National Park is a national park in the Great Southern region of Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

, approximately 337 km south-east of Perth

Perth, Western Australia

Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....

.

Description

It protects the Stirling Ranges, or Koikyennuruff, a range of mountains and hills over 60 km wide from west to east, stretching from the highway between Mount Barker

Mount Barker, Western Australia

Mount Barker is a town on the Albany Highway and is the administrative centre of the Shire of Plantagenet in the Great Southern region of Western Australia...

 and Cranbrook

Cranbrook, Western Australia

Cranbrook is a small town in the Great Southern region of Western Australia between Katanning, Kojonup and Mount Barker, situated 320km south of Perth. It is billed as "The Gateway to the Stirlings", referring to the nearby Stirling Range National Park...

 eastward past Gnowangerup

Gnowangerup, Western Australia

Gnowangerup is a town located south east of Katanning in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. The townsite was first gazetted in 1908 under the spelling of Ngowangerupp. Local dissatisfaction with this spelling led to it being altered to Gnowangerup in 1913.A branch railway from...

. Notable features include Toolbrunup

Toolbrunup

Toolbrunup is the second highest peak in the Stirling Ranges of Australia. The walk to the summit of Toolbrunup is often regarded as the best in the Stirling Ranges. The views from the summit are excellent, the many dramatic rocky outcrops provide spectacular scenery.Toolbrunup is made from...

, Bluff Knoll

Bluff Knoll

Bluff Knoll is a peak in the Stirling Range in the south-west of Western Australia . It is above sea level, and is one of only a few places to experience regular snowfalls in Western Australia, with some snow reported in most years. The last heavy snowfall was on 6 October 1992 when...

 - the tallest peak in the southwestern region, and a silhouette called The Sleeping Princess which is visible from the Porongurup

Porongurup, Western Australia

Porongurup is the name of a small mountain range in the Shire of Plantagenet in Western Australia and of a small village on the northern slopes of the range. At the 2006 census, Porongurup had a population of 370.The name is derived from the Aboriginal place-name, and consequently arrived with no...

 Range. Popular recreational activities in the park include bushwalking, abseiling

Abseiling

Abseiling , rappelling in American English, is the controlled descent down a rock face using a rope; climbers use this technique when a cliff or slope is too steep and/or dangerous to descend without protection.- Slang terms :...

 and gliding

Gliding

Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sport in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to remain airborne. The word soaring is also used for the sport.Gliding as a sport began in the 1920s...

. Camping

Camping

Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...

 is not permitted within the park boundaries.

Environment

The park has been identified by BirdLife International

BirdLife International

BirdLife International is a global Partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources...

 as an Important Bird Area

Important Bird Area

An Important Bird Area is an area recognized as being globally important habitat for the conservation of bird populations. Currently there are about 10,000 IBAs worldwide. The program was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International...

 (IBA) because it supports populations of endangered Short-billed Black Cockatoos and Western Whipbird

Western Whipbird

The Western Whipbird is a passerine bird found in several scattered populations across southern Australia. It is predominantly olive green in colour....

s, and is visited by endangered Long-billed Black-Cockatoo

Long-billed Black-Cockatoo

The Long-billed Black Cockatoo, also known as the White-tailed Black Cockatoo or Baudin's Black Cockatoo is a cockatoo endemic to south-western Australia, closely associated to moist, heavily forested areas dominated by Marri .The binomial commemorates the French explorer Nicolas...

s.