Serpentine Gorge, Natural gorge in West MacDonnell Ranges, Northern Territory, Australia

Serpentine Gorge lies about 100 kilometres west of Alice Springs in the West MacDonnell Ranges. It consists of two gorges cut by a south-flowing creek through two ridges of Heavitree Quartzite. A semi-permanent waterhole sits at the entrance, and the gorge shelters rare Central Australian plants including the Centralian flannel-flower and Macrozamia macdonnellii cycads.

A roadside facility called Serpentine Chalet was built in the late 1950s by Ansett-Pioneer as a tourist stop but closed due to water scarcity and its remote location. The early tourism infrastructure was abandoned, leaving the gorge as a walking destination without developed facilities.

The gorge lies on Section 7 of the Larapinta Trail, which ends here after starting at Ellery Creek Big Hole; Section 8 continues to Serpentine Chalet Dam. Walkers following the 1.3 km service road or the creek bed pass the semi-permanent waterhole that marks the entrance. Nearby stand the concrete slab and floor foundations of Serpentine Chalet, an Ansett-Pioneer tourist venture of the late 1950s and early 1960s abandoned for lack of water and its remote unsealed-road location.

Access is via a walking track of about 1.3 kilometers leading to the waterhole or an elevated lookout point. Bring plenty of water and be prepared for hot, dry conditions with limited shade along the route.

The waterhole at the gorge entrance is semi-permanent, not permanent, so the rare plants it supports depend on intermittent flow. Among them are the Centralian flannel-flower and cycads of the species Macrozamia macdonnellii, both found in the gorge. The creek that cut the gorge flows south through two ridges of Heavitree Quartzite.