Mount Ainslie

Mount Ainslie is one of the small hills inside the Canberra Nature Park that ring the city. It rises to 843 metres above sea level (around 280 metres above the floor of the city) and sits on the eastern side of central Canberra, immediately behind the Australian War Memorial. The summit is reachable by a sealed road or by a hiking track that climbs from the War Memorial car park.

The summit lookout is the standard place to take in the symmetric Walter Burley Griffin city plan. The view runs straight down Anzac Parade, across Lake Burley Griffin via the Commonwealth Avenue bridge, and up to Parliament House on Capital Hill at the southern end of the city's parliamentary axis. This view is on the cover of every Canberra tourist brochure and is the single best free thing to do in the capital.

The Kokoda Track Memorial Walk runs up the front face of Mount Ainslie from the back of the War Memorial, a distance of about 2 kilometres with a steady climb. The path is lined with bronze plaques telling the story of the 1942 Kokoda Track campaign in Papua New Guinea, the first major Australian land victory of the Second World War. It takes around 45 minutes to walk up at a steady pace.

The summit is reachable by car via Mount Ainslie Drive from the eastern side, which is a sealed road and is the standard option for visitors with mobility issues, families with young children, or anyone who wants to be there for sunrise without the climb. There is no entry fee and no booking required.

The summit is at its best at sunrise (when the light hits the white Parliament House first) and sunset (when the same building catches the last orange light). Winter mornings often have mist sitting in the city basin below, which photographers regard as the finest light of the year.