Perisher Valley has 99 permanent residents at the 2021 census. In winter that figure climbs to roughly 2,500 once guests arrive, which tells you most of what you need to know about living in Perisher Valley: it is a small mountain village that swells with the snow season.
This page covers the setting, the history, the climate and the practical side of getting here and staying. It says nothing about the property market. For places to sleep, we point you to our Perisher Valley accommodation guide.
Setting and population
Perisher Valley, commonly called Perisher, sits in a valley below Mount Perisher in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales. It lies within the Snowy Monaro Regional Council area and inside Kosciuszko National Park, on the Kosciuszko Road between Jindabyne and Charlotte Pass.
The village stands at 1,720 metres above sea level. The summit of Mount Perisher above it reaches 2,054 metres. It is one of four resort bases of the Perisher Ski Resort, alongside Guthega, Blue Cow and Smiggin Holes.
It is mainly a winter resort village. Even so, year-round accommodation is available, along with tours and bush walks. A population of 99 in the off-season is a good reminder that this is an alpine outpost rather than a town.
A short history of the valley
Before the skiers
The Snowy Mountains region is thought to have had Aboriginal occupation for some twenty thousand years. Large intertribal gatherings were held in the High Country during summer for feasting on the bogong moth, a practice that continued until around 1865. European explorers entered the district from 1835, and in 1840 Edmund Strzelecki ascended Mount Kosciuszko and named it after a Polish patriot.
High country stockmen followed, grazing cattle in summer. Banjo Paterson's poem The Man From Snowy River recalls this era, and the graziers left mountain huts scattered across the area. One story, which may be apocryphal, credits James Spencer, who settled here in the 1840s, with saying 'What a perisher' when caught in a storm, giving the area its name.
The land that became Kosciuszko National Park began as the National Chase Snowy Mountains on 5 December 1906. It became the Kosciuszko State Park in 1944 and the national park in 1967.
The ski era
Skiing in Australia began at Kiandra around 1861, but in the 20th century the focus shifted to the Mount Kosciuszko region. The first Kosciuszko Chalet opened at Charlotte Pass in 1930, and around 1939 a cafe at Smiggin Holes, near Perisher Valley, sent horse-drawn sleighs out with skiers.
The Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme, from 1949, opened the mountains to large-scale development. Telemark and the Snow Revellers Club lodges were completed in 1952, and in the winter of 1953 the first oversnow transport reached Perisher Valley, greeted with cheers and celebrations by the inhabitants.
Svere Kaaten built a rope tow at North Perisher in 1958, and Ken Murray added another along with Perisher's first T-bar. The Mount Perisher Double Chair opened in 1962. Murray Publishers was taken over by Australian Consolidated Press in 1972, and in 1995 a merger formed Perisher Blue Pty Limited.
The Swiss-designed Skitube Alpine Railway opened in 1987, carrying skiers from Bullocks Flat on the Alpine Way to Perisher Valley and Blue Cow. The combined resort became the largest ski resort in the Southern Hemisphere, and today Perisher is the largest in Australia, with 1,245 hectares of skiable terrain and 45 lifts as of 2025.
Perisher Valley climate
Perisher has either a subarctic (Dfc) or subpolar oceanic (Cfc) climate, depending on which isotherm is used, with cool summers and cold winters. The higher peaks have a tundra climate. Snow falls on an average of 60.2 days a year, and the snowpack lasts several months, sometimes into early summer. Its sheltered location means it does not last as long as at equivalent elevations on the western side of the range.
The recognised natural snow line is at 1,650 metres. Over the 15 years before 2012, average maximum snow depth across the resort was about 1.9 metres, and the average winter minimum temperature was stated as -3.7 °C. Snow depth measurements are taken by Snowy Hydro at Spencers Creek, about 2 kilometres west of the village.
The table gives 1991-2020 monthly averages for the Perisher area, about 1 km from the village.
| Month | Max (°C) | Min (°C) | Rain (mm) | Rain days | Sunny days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25.7 | 11.7 | 72.7 | 10.0 | 27.6 |
| February | 24.9 | 11.3 | 72.0 | 9.7 | 24.5 |
| March | 21.7 | 9.1 | 66.7 | 8.4 | 28.2 |
| April | 16.6 | 5.8 | 54.0 | 8.2 | 26.7 |
| May | 11.8 | 3.2 | 58.2 | 9.4 | 27.6 |
| June | 8.2 | 1.4 | 84.0 | 12.6 | 25.5 |
| July | 7.2 | 0.5 | 70.5 | 13.4 | 27.5 |
| August | 8.3 | 0.6 | 78.7 | 13.1 | 27.9 |
| September | 11.7 | 2.3 | 77.1 | 12.4 | 26.9 |
| October | 15.5 | 4.3 | 83.1 | 12.2 | 27.1 |
| November | 18.9 | 7.0 | 93.1 | 12.2 | 26.4 |
| December | 22.3 | 9.2 | 81.7 | 10.0 | 27.1 |
July is the coldest month, with an average maximum of 7.2 °C and a minimum of 0.5 °C. November is the wettest, at 93.1 mm.
Services in the village
Our older notes on the village list a mini supermarket, ATMs, retail shops, restaurants, bars, a post office, a medical centre, a kids centre, a newsagent and ski and board hire shops. Opening times and what is currently operating can change with the season, so check before you rely on any of them. For eating out, see our Perisher Valley dining page.
Many lodges are on the slopes, so skiing can start at the door. If skiing is your reason for coming, our Perisher Valley skiing page has more, and families may like the holiday with kids guide.
Festival and the ski season start
Since 2009, Perisher Valley has hosted the Snowy Mountains of Music Festival, a folk festival created by the people behind the Illawarra Folk Festival. It runs every year on the Queen's Birthday Weekend, which is also the official start of the ski season. It promotes the Australian snow season and Perisher Valley, and it features Australian and international acts across a range of genres. We list other happenings on our Perisher Valley events page.
Distances and getting in
Access is by the Skitube Alpine Railway or by road. Our older notes put Perisher about two and a half hours from Canberra and about six hours from Sydney by car. Self-drivers go through Jindabyne, roughly 33 km from the village. Treat these as approximate and allow extra time in winter.
If you want a base down the mountain, Jindabyne has the Discovery Parks - Jindabyne caravan park, with powered sites and cabins. Contact the park for rates and availability. For routes and transport detail, see getting to Perisher Valley. For wider state planning, Visit NSW is the official tourism site: Visit NSW. Background reading is on Wikipedia: Perisher Valley.
Frequently asked questions
How many people live in Perisher Valley?
The 2021 census recorded 99 residents. In winter the population is about 2,500 because of guests.
Is Perisher Valley only open in winter?
It is primarily a winter resort village, but year-round accommodation is available, including tours and bush walks.
How far is Perisher Valley from Jindabyne?
Our older notes give about 33 km from Jindabyne by road, with the village on the Kosciuszko Road between Jindabyne and Charlotte Pass.
