[4] At the time of European colonisation, the Grampians had a number of indigenous names, one of which was Gariwerd in the western Kulin language of the Mukjarawaint,[5] Jardwadjali, and Djab Wurrung people, who lived in the area and who shared 90 per cent of their vocabulary.

[3] This area is a distinct physiographic section of the larger Western Victorian Highlands province, which, in turn, is part of the larger East Australian Cordillera physiographic division — commonly known as the Great Dividing Range — a series of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills forming out of the Wimmera plains just to the west of the Grampians, staying close to the east Australian coastline and extending 4,000 km (2,500 miles) to the north to Dauan Island in the Torres Strait off the northern tip of the Cape York Peninsula.

The eastern sides of the ridges, where the sedimentary layers have faulted, are steep and beyond the vertical in place - notably at Hollow Mountain near Dadswells Bridge at the northern end of the ranges.

[10] The coarse grain and fine lamination of the Silverstone Formation, along with undulations at the surface, is thought to have been an estuarine backwater before becoming preserved around 400 million years ago.

Winter cloud cover is profound; with an extraordinary 26 days of precipitation in July, constituting an annual total of 215 days—quite possibly the highest figure of any site in mainland Australia.

The peak can be classed as a cold and moist Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csb) on account of the low summer rainfall − in February averaging only 32.2 millimetres (1.27 in) of rain.

[11] To the Jardwadjali and Djab Wurrung peoples, Gariwerd was central to the dreaming of the creator, Bunjil, and buledji Brambimbula, the two brothers Bram, who were responsible for the creation and naming of many landscape features in western Victoria.

[15] One of the most significant Aboriginal cultural sites in south-eastern Australia is Bunjil's Shelter, not within the park area, but in Black Range Scenic Reserve near Stawell.

According to Wilkie, the extension of railways to nearby Stawell, Ararat and Dunkeld were an important factor in the mountains' increasing popularity in the early twentieth century; growing car ownership and the construction of tourist roads in the ranges during the 1920s were also significant.

[19] Mount William is known within the gliding community for the "Grampians Wave", a weather phenomenon that sometimes enables glider pilots to reach extreme altitudes of the order of 28,000 ft (8,500 m).

This predominantly occurs during the months of May, June, September and October when strong westerly winds flow at right angles to the ridge, and produce a large-scale standing wave.

[23] In March 2019, 30% of climbing areas were closed by Parks Victoria due to cultural and ecological concerns, namely bolting, chalk marks, and making access paths through vegetation.

The Brambuk National Park and Cultural Centre in Halls Gap is owned and managed by Jardwadjali and Djab Wurrung people from five Aboriginal communities with historic links to the Gariwerd-Grampians ranges and the surrounding plains.

Launched in 1992, the Grampians Grape Escape is a hallmark event for Victoria and provides food and wine offerings by more than 100 local artisan producers, live music and family entertainment.