Mt Jagungal is a dominant peak in the centre of a region which is known as the 'Jagungal Wilderness Area'.
This is a large wilderness region north of the Main Range. It is part of the Kosciuszko National Park. While being designated 'wilderness', there are several roads crossing the area which are used by both parks management and Snowy Mountain Authority vehicles and to Australian walkers, it is not really a true wilderness. Many overseas visitors would consider this to be an excellent wilderness and its all a matter of perspective.
Despite the roads, there is some excellent alpine walking in this region and it is one of my favourite regions in both summer and winter. With about 70% of the region being open grasslands, it is possible to walk almost anywhere.
The Jagungal Wilderness Area is located just north of Mt Kosciuszko in southern New South Wales.
There are three major access points. In the south, the road from Jindabyne to Guthega village provides access from either Island Bend, Munyang Power Station or from the ski village of Guthega. The Khancoban to Kiandra road crosses the northern end of the region providing several access points. Round Mountain is the most popular but Tooma Dam is another good access point. To the east, the road to the Eucumbene dam wall provides access through a series of private properties, Cesjacks Hut is the most popular of these. There is no public transport access to the region.
The CMA 1:50,000, 'Khancoban' and 'Mount Kosciusko' cover the entire region. Unfortunately these are now longer produced and have been replaced by a series of 16 1:25,000 maps. Also useful are the Bush Maps 1:50,000 Round Mountain Area map which contain notes for bushwalkers on it and Tim Lamble's 1:31,680 'Mt Jagungal and the Brassy Mountains'. For guide books notes appear in many books although only a tiny number of the many possible walks are written up.
Charles Warner, 'Bushwalking In Kosciusko National Park' describes all the major features and provides many walk ideas. However, it does not include any track notes for any specific walks.
None are needed for this area. Currently a lot of this area of the park is essentially closed for walking due the fires of the 2002-2003 summer. Parks management has opened up the main tracks for walking but has requested all walkers to not walk off-track - this means that ascents of Mt Jagungal and Mt Gungartan are not allowed as there is no constructed track to their summits but many walkers are ignoring the closure.
