Police say a 33-year-old Californian tourist has died after taking a wrong turn while hiking with little water in summer heat in the Australian Outback.

A police statement on Thursday says the man was reported missing on a hiking trail west of Alice Springs in arid central Australia on Wednesday afternoon and his body was found by a search party at the base of Mount Sonder an hour later.

Police have not identified the tourist or said where in California he was from. Police have not revealed a cause of death, but say it is not suspicious.

Police Sergeant Michael Potts says heat and exposure were contributing factors.

The temperature at Alice Springs reached 42 degrees Celsius (108 degrees Fahrenheit) on Wednesday. There is little shade in its semi-desert surrounds.