The upside-down resort
Australia's highest lifted village, strung along a ridge in the roof of the Victorian Alps — where you click in at the door and ski down to the lifts.
Hotham does it backwards — and that’s exactly why people love it.
Most resorts put the village at the bottom and send you up. Hotham puts it on top. The accommodation, shops and lifts all sit along a high, narrow ridge at around 1,861 metres, with the mountains falling away on both sides. You wake up already at altitude, click in at the door, and ski down to the chairs.
That height matters. Sitting higher and more exposed than most Australian resorts, Hotham holds colder, drier snow — the kind that makes the good days genuinely good. When a front comes through, the top of the mountain is often the best place in the country to be.
Terrain with an edge
Hotham’s trail map leans hard toward intermediate and advanced skiing — the steepest overall mix of any major Australian resort. Beyond the marked runs are the chutes and the snow-gum tree runs the mountain is known for: tight, playful lines through the gums that reward local knowledge.
A real alpine village
Because everything is on the ridge, the village feels compact and connected. Stay up top and you can leave the car parked for the trip — lifts, dinner and the shops are all a few steps away.