Devils Gullet

Devils Gullet State Reserve is a small but spectacular protected area in Tasmania's Central Plateau, protecting a dramatic glacial gorge where dolerite cliffs plunge approximately 220 metres to the Cethana Reservoir far below. The reserve is located within the boundaries of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area and sits at the northern edge of the Central Plateau, adjacent to the Great Western Tiers escarpment. A short walk from the car park leads to a viewing platform at the cliff edge, providing one of the most dramatic views in Tasmania: a vertiginous drop to the reservoir glinting between forest walls, with the ranges beyond. The reserve is an easily accessible scenic destination for visitors travelling between Deloraine and the Central Plateau.

The heathland and subalpine woodland surrounding Devils Gullet supports typical Great Western Tiers fauna. Wedge-tailed eagles and peregrine falcons nest in the dolerite cliff faces of the gorge, hunting prey across the adjacent moorlands and forest. The endemic green rosella is common in the surrounding woodland, and the Tasmanian pademelon and Bennett's wallaby graze the heath margins. The common wombat is frequently encountered near the car park. The cliff environment provides nesting microhabitats inaccessible to ground predators, making the sheer walls important for raptor conservation. The Cethana Reservoir below supports waterbirds and freshwater fish communities.

The vegetation immediately around Devils Gullet is subalpine heath and woodland transitioning to alpine moorland at higher elevations. Snow gum and black peppermint eucalypts form sparse woodland over heathy understorey of native daisies, banksias, and pineapple grass. The cliff edges support prostrate wind-adapted shrubs and sedges. Below the escarpment, tall wet eucalypt forest drapes the slopes above the reservoir. The reserve sits at a botanical transition zone between the alpine vegetation of the Central Plateau and the wet forests of the lowlands below the Great Western Tiers, creating a compressed but diverse flora. Wildflowers in the heath bloom from November through January.

Devils Gullet exposes the same Jurassic dolerite found throughout the Tasmanian highlands, here forming a sheer glacially modified cliff face that plunges dramatically to the valley below. The gorge was deepened and steepened by glacial erosion during the Pleistocene ice ages, when ice accumulated on the Central Plateau and flowed toward the escarpment. The vertical walls reveal the massive, columnar jointing of the dolerite, formed as the rock contracted during cooling approximately 170 million years ago. The valley below is occupied by the Cethana Reservoir, formed by the damming of the Forth River for hydroelectric power generation. The contrast between the dark dolerite cliffs and the blue water of the reservoir creates a striking visual composition.

Devils Gullet is exposed to the cool, frequently wet conditions of the Central Plateau, with altitude and proximity to the Great Western Tiers escarpment intensifying rainfall and wind. Snow falls regularly in winter and can occur at any time from April through October. Summer temperatures are mild, rarely exceeding 18 degrees Celsius, while winters can bring temperatures well below zero with wind chill making conditions feel considerably colder. The viewing platform is exposed to wind from the plateau, and the cliff edges can be particularly hazardous in strong wind conditions. Access may be temporarily closed after heavy snow.

The Great Western Tiers escarpment and the country below it was part of the traditional territory of the Pallittorre and Lairmairrener bands of the Palawa people. The dramatic escarpment landscape was well known to Indigenous peoples, who moved between the Central Plateau and the lower country seasonally. European explorers and surveyors crossed the Great Western Tiers from the 1820s onwards, and pastoral use of the plateau above the Tiers began in the mid-nineteenth century. The damming of the Forth River to create the Cethana Reservoir was a major landscape intervention in the twentieth century as part of Tasmania's extensive hydroelectric development program.

Devils Gullet State Reserve was established to protect the exceptional scenic and geological values of this dramatic cliff and gorge feature within the boundaries of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. The reserve is compact, focused primarily on the cliff-edge viewpoint and its immediate surrounds, with visitor infrastructure limited to a car park and walking path to the viewing platform. The reserve is managed in the context of the broader World Heritage Area, with management objectives consistent with the outstanding universal values of the listed area.

The main attraction is the short walk from the car park to the Devils Gullet viewing platform, approximately 1.5 kilometres return through subalpine heath and woodland. The platform provides a dramatic 220-metre vertical view down to the Cethana Reservoir and the forested valley walls. The view is particularly impressive in clear conditions when the reservoir reflects the surrounding landscape. The cliff-edge walk to the viewing platform passes through pleasant subalpine heath and offers views across the Great Western Tiers escarpment. The reserve is typically visited as part of a day trip to the Central Plateau, often combined with visits to Deloraine, Mole Creek, or the Walls of Jerusalem area.

Devils Gullet State Reserve is located on the Lake Highway approximately 55 kilometres south of Deloraine, in the area known as Staverton on the Central Plateau. A car park provides the starting point for the walk to the viewing platform, with a toilet facility. No other facilities are available at the reserve. The road to the reserve may be closed or require chains during snow periods. The nearest accommodation and services are at Deloraine, which offers a range of accommodation options and restaurants. A national parks pass is required. The drive from Deloraine via Mole Creek and Mersey Forest Road passes through beautiful scenery and can be combined with visits to other reserves in the area.

Conservation management at Devils Gullet focuses on maintaining the subalpine vegetation in good condition and protecting the dramatic cliff and gorge features from inappropriate visitor use. The viewing platform was designed to direct visitor activity away from the unsecured cliff edges, improving safety and reducing erosion. Weed management targets invasive species in the car park and along track margins. The reserve's position within the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area requires management consistent with the site's outstanding universal values, including the maintenance of the wild character of the landscape. Climate change monitoring tracks changes to the subalpine vegetation communities over time.