Parking
Manja Shelter Carpark, reached from the Henty Highway near Glenisla via Billywing Road, Red Rock Road and Harrops Track. The track begins at the carpark.
Overview
About Manja Shelter Walk
Why go
- Aboriginal rock art at the destination
- Stringybark woodland and a protected heathland boardwalk
Heads up
- The return leg retraces the outbound corridor
- Uneven and sometimes slippery footing
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Grampians map
Full mapElevation233–333 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
5 active Grampians alerts
- ClosureBushfire-damaged walks and picnic area remain closedThe Fortress, Red Gum, Billimina, Chimney Pots and Brownings Loop walks, plus Mafeking Picnic Area, remain closed because of track or site damage from the 2024/25 summer bushfires.Official details
- ClosureMackenzie Falls precinct closed during constructionThe Mackenzie Falls (Migunang wirab) Precinct has no vehicle or visitor access during major construction works expected to finish by the end of 2026.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Grampians Tour Guide
Your drive to Manja Shelter Walk, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Grampians National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this trailhead
Manja Shelter: Hand Stencils in Sandstone0:00 / 0:42
“You're approaching the Red Rock Road access toward Manja Shelter, a rock-art site farther into the Victoria Range. Reaching it involves more driving via Harrops Track, then a walk from the Manja Shelter car park.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Grampians Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Buandik and Billimina: Look for the Ochre
- Why the Ark Crosses Park Borders
- Smoke Wakes the Heath
- The Other Black Cockatoo
- 233 audio storiesacross Grampians’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Short-beaked Echidna, Powerful Owl, Wedge-tailed Eagle, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 81 trails, 62 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Manja Shelter Walk
The walk in shortAn out-and-back track from Manja Shelter Carpark to Manja Shelter and back, 2.
An out-and-back track from Manja Shelter Carpark to Manja Shelter and back, 2.6 km return in about one hour. It is also listed as Manja Walk. Rated Australian Grade 3 (Moderate), which assumes reasonable fitness and confidence on rough ground, hills and short steeper sections.
Route sequenceFrom the carpark the track winds gently uphill through open stringybark woodland, crosses a…
From the carpark the track winds gently uphill through open stringybark woodland, crosses a boardwalk that protects fragile heathland, then continues across sandstone terrain to the shelter. After spending time at the art, you retrace the same line back to the carpark.
Footing and effortExpect uneven natural ground with a steady climb and a few short steeper or rougher stretches.
Expect uneven natural ground with a steady climb and a few short steeper or rougher stretches. Surfaces along the corridor are a mix of ground and timber boardwalk, and boardwalk or rock can be slippery. The route source reports roughly 94 m of total climbing, with the profile ranging about 233 to 333 m.
The shelterManja Shelter holds some of Victoria's finest Aboriginal hand stencils, along with animal…
Manja Shelter holds some of Victoria's finest Aboriginal hand stencils, along with animal tracks and stick figures. This is a living cultural place. Look, stay back from the rock faces, and leave the art and the shelter exactly as you found them. Nothing should be touched, traced or disturbed.
Not the northern walkThis is a different trail from the shorter Gulgurn Manja Shelter Walk, which starts at Hollow…
This is a different trail from the shorter Gulgurn Manja Shelter Walk, which starts at Hollow Mountain Carpark and visits a separate art site. If you were sent to Hollow Mountain, you are at the wrong end of the range.
Rules and hazardsParks Victoria prohibits dogs at this site, along with firearms, camping, fires, horses,…
Parks Victoria prohibits dogs at this site, along with firearms, camping, fires, horses, generators and bicycles. Assistance dog rules are handled separately. The agency also warns that trees and limbs may fall, and that surfaces can be slippery, so watch the ground and avoid lingering under large limbs in wind.
Getting thereFrom the Henty Highway near Glenisla, take Billywing Road for about 4.
From the Henty Highway near Glenisla, take Billywing Road for about 4.9 km, keep slightly right onto Red Rock Road for about 650 m, turn left onto Harrops Track for about 4.2 km, then make the short final turn to Manja Shelter Carpark. The track starts right at the carpark.
Honest notesThe distance is the full return trip, so budget the hour for 2.
The distance is the full return trip, so budget the hour for 2.6 km of walking rather than a quick roadside stop. The climb is short but continuous, and the uneven, sometimes slippery footing is the main reason for the Grade 3 rating.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Grampians
157 sightingsShort-beaked EchidnaMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
37 sightingsPowerful OwlMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
59 sightingsWedge-tailed EagleMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
24 sightingsEastern Brown SnakeMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
10 sightingsTiger SnakeMost seen around noonSighting map
29 sightingsRed-bellied Black SnakeMost seen around 11 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Grampians. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
