- Where
- Mungo National Park, south-western
New South Wales, Australia - Coordinates
- 33.75° S
143.08° E - World Heritage
- 1981, Willandra Lakes Region
(17 dry lakes) - National park
- 1979
- Burials
- Mungo Lady (found 1968)
Mungo Man (found 1974) - Getting there
- Unsealed roads; about 110 km
north-east of Mildura - Best visited
- March to May, September to November
- Advisory
- Australia Level 1
Saltbush to the horizon, a few emus hurrying across it on business of their own, and at its far edge a long low wall of sand and clay, carved by the wind into ridges that went pink and then gold as the sun dropped. I kept to the boardwalk. Our guide spoke about this country and its people, and I listened, and did not write a word until much later.
The short answer
Lake Mungo is a dry lake in south-western New South Wales, the central feature of Mungo National Park, about 110 km north-east of Mildura, Wikipedia records. It is one of seventeen dry lakes in the Willandra Lakes Region, inscribed as a World Heritage site in 1981. On its eastern side lie the Walls of China, a lunette, a crescent dune built by wind on the shore of the old lake, up to 40 metres high and carved by erosion into ridges and spires. It was there that the burials known as Mungo Lady and Mungo Man came to light, dated around 40,000 years old. The park is the country of the Paakantyi (Barkindji), Mutthi Mutthi and Ngiyampaa peoples; NSW National Parks writes the names as Southern Paakantyi, Mutthi Mutthi and Ngyiampaa, and works with elders of all three in managing it.
Why it's worth knowing
Three layers of time. The walls are made of three layers you can see: the reddish Gol Gol layer, laid down 100,000 to 120,000 years ago; the greyish Mungo layer, of 50,000 to 25,000 years ago; and the pale brown Zanci layer, mostly of 25,000 to 15,000 years ago, Wikipedia records. The Mungo layer is the richest in archaeology. In the cold, dry last glacial period, more rain ran west off the Great Dividing Range and kept the lake full of fish and waterbirds; as it dried, it turned salty, and the alkaline soil helped preserve what was left on its shore.
The burials. Mungo Lady was found in 1968: her body had been burned, the bones broken, burned again and covered with ochre, making her one of the oldest known cremations in the world. Mungo Man was found in 1974, about 500 metres away, laid on his back with his hands clasped, sprinkled with red ochre, beside the remains of a fire. His age has been argued over for decades: estimates have run from about 30,000 years to Alan Thorne’s 62,000 years of 1999, until a team led by Bowler, with descendants of the Mungo people among it, agreed in 2003 on about 40,000 years, Wikipedia records. NSW National Parks says both were buried more than 42,000 years ago. When Mungo Man was found, Wikipedia notes, the prevailing view was that people had reached Australia only about 20,000 years ago.
Footprints, and the wind. Fossil human footprints about 20,000 years old have also been found at Mungo, NSW National Parks says. The wind that carved the walls keeps uncovering and destroying what lies in them: an adult skeleton exposed in 2005 was lost to wind and rain by late 2006, after which the custodians received a government grant to survey and protect eroding skeletons, hearths and middens in place. No research is permitted on them, Wikipedia records.
The field notes
Returned to country
Mungo Lady’s remains were returned unconditionally to the traditional owners, the Three Traditional Tribal Groups, in 1992. Mungo Man was taken to the Australian National University in Canberra in 1974; in 2015 the university handed him back to Aboriginal elders and expressed “sincere regret” for his removal, and in November 2017 he was returned to Lake Mungo with the remains of 104 other people and kept at an undisclosed place while a final resting place was decided. On 24 May 2022 Mungo Lady and Mungo Man were reburied at an undisclosed location, despite a last-minute legal challenge by some traditional owners; Heritage NSW, which had custody of the remains, said the state government had not authorised the reburial, and the government announced an independent review. The three groups have remained divided over whether the reburial was premature without a keeping place at Mungo, and in 2023 the New South Wales government committed $8.5 million towards building one in the park, Wikipedia records.
A sheep station turned park
European squatters drove the original inhabitants off the land for sheep farming in the 1840s. The park was bought for the national reserve system in 1979, through the Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife, which raised the $101,000 needed; the old Mungo woolshed still stands near the visitor centre, and the Shearers’ Quarters now house visitors, Wikipedia records.
A wind-carved spire on the lunette at sunset, December 2021.
Photograph: Kevinzoo45 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Emus crossing the dry lakebed below the dunes.
Photograph: Alakebro · CC BY-SA 4.0
The lunette from end to end, the dry lake floor in front.
Photograph: Will Hore-Lacy · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Keep your feet on the boards, and step off them only when someone from this country leads the way.
- If you see anything on the ground, a stone, a shell, a bone, leave it exactly as it lies and tell a ranger.
- Check the roads with the shires before turning onto the dirt. After rain, wait, however long it takes.
- Watch the walls from the platform at sunset, and remain until the last colour has drained away.
- After dark, lie flat and attempt the stars. (Abandoned almost at once. The list understood.)
The Walls of China. A lunette: a long crescent of sand and clay heaped up by the wind on the eastern shore of Lake Mungo when it held water, up to 40 metres high, and since carved by wind and rain into fluted ridges and spires of grey, cream and pale orange. Its three layers record more than 100,000 years of the lake’s life, and the erosion that shaped it goes on, so that its face changes from year to year. It is seen from the boardwalk and viewing platform, or with an Aboriginal guide.
Tally, in the marginA wall that nobody built, and the wind still at work on it while I watched. I leaned on the railing a long time and found I had nothing worth adding.
Getting there
How to get there. By road: the park is about 110 km north-east of Mildura and about 760 km west of Sydney, Wikipedia records; the access roads are unsealed and managed by the local councils. NSW National Parks asks visitors to check the road reports of Balranald, Wentworth and Central Darling shires before setting out, and never to drive on a closed council road (alerts read 7 October 2026). NSW National Parks lists day tours from Mildura. In the park, a signposted loop drive of about 70 km passes the Walls of China and circles the lakes.
When to go. The park is open all year, but NSW National Parks warns it may close in poor weather or high fire danger, and the dirt roads turn impassable after rain. Spring and autumn are the best seasons, with mild weather, and summer is very hot with little shade, Tourism Australia’s guide to the park says (as indexed). Mungo Lookout and its track are closed from 12 to 16 October 2026 for an upgrade, and the lakebed bike trail is closed.
What to arrange ahead. A guided tour if you want to walk among the Walls of China: visitors may not step off the boardwalks there unless accompanied by an Aboriginal guide, Wikipedia records, and NSW National Parks lists a Mungo lunette guided tour. Park entry is $8 per vehicle per day, paid in envelopes outside the Mungo Visitor Centre. NSW National Parks lists campgrounds and the Shearers’ Quarters for overnight stays. Bring fuel and water.
Safety. The State Department has Australia at Level 1, exercise normal precautions, its lowest level (advisory dated 18 August 2026 in its feed, read 7 October 2026). The hazards here are remoteness, heat and the roads: check the alerts and the shire road reports, carry water, and do not travel on unsealed roads after rain.
Mark this place
Common questions
Where is Lake Mungo?
Lake Mungo is a dry lake in Mungo National Park, in south-western New South Wales, Australia, about 110 km north-east of Mildura and 760 km west of Sydney. It is one of seventeen dry lakes in the Willandra Lakes Region World Heritage site.
How old are Mungo Lady and Mungo Man?
Mungo Lady and Mungo Man, found at Lake Mungo in 1968 and 1974, were dated to about 40,000 years old by a team led by Jim Bowler in 2003, after earlier estimates ranged from about 30,000 to 62,000 years. NSW National Parks says both were buried more than 42,000 years ago.
What are the Walls of China at Lake Mungo?
The Walls of China are a lunette, a crescent-shaped dune built by wind along the eastern shore of Lake Mungo in New South Wales, up to 40 metres high. Erosion has carved them into ridges and spires that show three layers of sand and clay laid down over more than 100,000 years.
Where are Mungo Lady and Mungo Man now?
Mungo Lady and Mungo Man were reburied on 24 May 2022 at an undisclosed location at Lake Mungo. The reburial was contested by some traditional owners, and the New South Wales government later committed $8.5 million towards a keeping place in Mungo National Park.
Can you walk on the Walls of China?
Visitors to Mungo National Park must stay on the boardwalks at the Walls of China unless accompanied by an Aboriginal guide. NSW National Parks lists a Mungo lunette guided tour, and a viewing platform overlooks the walls.
How do you get to Mungo National Park?
Mungo National Park is reached by unsealed council roads, about 110 km north-east of Mildura. NSW National Parks asks visitors to check the road reports of Balranald, Wentworth and Central Darling shires first; the roads can close after rain.
Who are the traditional owners of Lake Mungo?
Lake Mungo is the country of the Paakantyi (Barkindji), Mutthi Mutthi and Ngiyampaa peoples; NSW National Parks writes the names as Southern Paakantyi, Mutthi Mutthi and Ngyiampaa. Elders of the three groups share in managing Mungo National Park with NSW National Parks.
How much does it cost to visit Mungo National Park?
Entry to Mungo National Park costs $8 per vehicle per day, paid by self-registration envelope outside the Mungo Visitor Centre, NSW National Parks says. Different fees apply to commercial tours and vehicles with eight or more seats.