Mount Arapiles

Mount Arapiles, traditionally known as Dyurrite, is a prominent quartzite rock formation rising above the Wimmera plains in Mount Arapiles-Tooan State Park, about 35 km west of Horsham, Victoria. Renowned internationally as one of Australia's premier rock-climbing destinations with over 2,000 routes, it also offers bushwalking, panoramic summit views, Aboriginal rock art and diverse native flora and fauna.

Visitors can expect a rugged, isolated sandstone and quartzite mountain rising 140 metres above the surrounding plains. The area features extensive rock-climbing cliffs, marked walking tracks including the summit walk, open woodland and wildflower displays, lookouts with 360-degree views over the Wimmera, a campground at The Pines, picnic areas, and interpretive signs about Aboriginal cultural heritage and natural history.

Mount Arapiles is a quartzite formation formed about 420 million years ago. Named in 1836 by explorer Major Thomas Mitchell after the Arapiles hills near Salamanca, Spain. The area has a long Aboriginal history as a quarry for hard stone for tools and contains rock art sites. European pastoral use followed from the mid-19th century before reservation as a state park.

Traditionally known as Dyurrite, the mountain is of cultural significance to the Wotjobaluk, Jaadwa, Jadawadjali, Wergaia and Jupagulk peoples. It contains Aboriginal rock art, stone quarries and spiritual associations. Today it is co-managed to protect cultural heritage and is internationally significant for rock-climbing culture.