World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park, covering almost 20,000 square kilometres, is a place of contrasting landscapes and diverse habitats. Saltwater crocodiles lurk in freshwater billabongs dotted with lotus lilies. Rugged cliffs of the Arnhem Land escarpment hide deep sandstone gorges and pockets of monsoon rainforest. Waterfalls cascade into pools fringed with paperbarks and pandanus.
Don’t leave the Top End without visiting Kakadu. As well as seeing our waterfalls and wildlife we will share our culture with you, a culture that goes back 65,000 years. Marvel at our rock art galleries at Ubirr and Burrungkuy (Nourlangie) and Nanguluwur. Hear our stories about how we worked with nature in the seven seasons in our calendar. Taste the barramundi and bush foods.
Kakadu has a seasonal park fee structure. All visitors require a Park Pass. Your pass includes Park entry, ranger activities and access to Visitors Centres. Buy your Park Pass online before you go at parksaustralia.gov.au/kakadu. Before travelling to Kakadu check reports for access to attractions at parksaustralia.gov.au/ Kakadu/access.
Nineteen Aboriginal clans reside in Kakadu National Park. Aboriginal people are Bininj in the north of the park and Mungguy in the south. Some of them live in Kakadu’s towns and others live in more remote parts of the park, but all of them have a deep spiritual connection to our country.
With some of the oldest and most prolific rock art collections in the world, Kakadu National Park is home to about 5,000 rock art sites with some of the oldest paintings found in three main areas of the park – Ubirr, Nourlangie and Nanguluwur. The art sites bear witness to their strong and ongoing connection with the land, having lasted for many thousands of years and were central to Kakadu receiving World Heritage listed status for culture as well as nature.
Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Centre
4.5km off the Kakadu Highway on route to Cooinda. Open daily.
To gain an understanding of the connection Kakadu’s Aboriginal owners have with this special part of the Top End, spend some time at the Warradjan Cultural Centre and learn the stories that gave them their laws. Members of local Aboriginal clans developed this centre to share their culture with visitors. The building has been styled in the shape of a pig nosed turtle, Warradjan, and is based on the theme, ‘our land is our life’.
Bowali Visitor Centre
A visit to Kakadu should include a stop at the Bowali Visitor Centre near Jabiru, a small town within the national park, approximately 250 kilometres east of Darwin. Here you can buy your park pass, walk through interpretive displays, and get the latest news on road conditions and ranger-guided activities.
Check the Kakadu Access Report before travelling www.parksaustralia.gov.au/kakadu/access/.
Kakadu is BIG, almost 20,000 square kilometres, Australia’s largest National Park and almost half the size of Switzerland. Allow yourself a couple of days to see and experience it.
Your visit to Kakadu can be as adventurous as you want it to be. Tour operators have the expertise and equipment to get you around safely. If you want the freedom of driving yourselves understand that these aren’t city streets and while the main highways are of a good standard some roads are definitely 4WD only and some are closed in the Top End Summer season.
The Nature’s Way tourism drive is a great way to explore the park. The drive runs along the Arnhem Highway to Jabiru, follows the Kakadu Highway to Pine Creek, and continues south to Katherine and Nitmiluk National Park.
Kakadu’s Crocodile Hotel, a crocodile-shaped complex, is one of a kind.
Ubirr
40km from Jabiru. Open daily.
Subject to closure during Top End Summer flooding. Ubirr is one of Kakadu’s two most famous rock art galleries. The galleries can be viewed by following an easy one-kilometre circular walking track. During the dry season, interpretive rangers give free scheduled talks about the ancient rock art. A moderately steep 250 metre climb takes you to a rocky outlook with views across the floodplains. Enjoying a spectacular tropical sunset from Nadab Lookout is not to be missed.
Note: The Traditional Owners of Ubirr request visitors to the park that no alcohol be consumed at this site.
Burrungkuy (Nourlangie) Rock Art Site
Open daily.
The walls of the Burrungkuy art site have served as a shelter and canvas for thousands of years. Paintings such as Namarrgon, the Lightning Man, explore the relationship of the people to their country and beliefs. Enquire at the Bowali Visitor Centre about the park’s seasonal guided ranger tours.
Jim Jim Falls
Open daily during the dry season 6.30am – 8.30pm subject to weather conditions. 4WD only.
Whether the falls are raging with water or the merest trickle, this majestic waterfall is a sight to behold. Set in the red ochre of the Arnhem Land escarpment, and boasting white sandy beaches and crystal-clear water, it is worth the rugged twokilometre return walk across rocks to appreciate this special area during the dry season.
Twin Falls
Open daily during the dry season subject to weather conditions. 4WD only.
Twin Falls is set in the Arnhem Land escarpment. A 6km return hike to the top of the falls awaits the fit and well-prepared hiker. Sit down on the white sandy shore and be rewarded with panoramic views of the towering cliffs and sparkling waters.
Maguk
Open daily during the dry season. 4WD only.
A one kilometre bushwalk along Barramundi Creek leads through shady monsoon forest to the base of Maguk with its beautiful plunge pool and small waterfall – a truly scenic and tranquil place.
Yurmikmik Walks
In the south of Kakadu, 26km from the Gunlom turn off. Open daily during the dry season.
A series of interconnected walking tracks including Boulder Creek (2km return), Motor Car Falls (7.5km return), Yurmikmik Lookout (5km return) and Kurrundie Creek (11km return - permit required - through Bowali Visitor Centre).
Gunlom Plunge Pool
Gunlom is currently closed. Check the Kakadu Access Report before travelling: parksaustralia.gov.au/Kakadu/access
Gunlom, located in the southern end of Kakadu, is the magical combination of waterfall and serene plunge pool, with shady gums cooling the picnic areas. A climb to the top of the waterfall provides sweeping views of the southern-most parts of Kakadu and a natural horizon infinity pool.
Scenic flights
Kakadu is dual World Heritage-listed, a worthy recognition that is difficult to comprehend from the ground, but abundantly clear from above. View varied landscapes, from floodplains to arid dry sandstone plateaus, mangrove and spinifex, tropical monsoon forest, savannah woodlands, placid fresh water billabongs and raging seven metre coastal tides.
Explore Yellow Water and Mamukala, wetland areas of international significance. Over 1,000 plant species, a quarter of all Australian freshwater fish species, and over one third of all Australian bird species can be found in the park. Kakadu’s landscapes have been shaped by water with the Mary, Wildman, West Alligator, South Alligator and East Alligator Rivers teeming with wildlife. During the Top End Summer, waterfalls along the Arnhem Land escarpment are at their most spectacular, the lowlands are flooded, and the vegetation is lush. Late in the dry season large flocks of magpie geese, whistling ducks, spoonbills, egrets and jabirus congregate around the remaining waterholes.
Mamukala Wetlands
Open daily, subject to weather conditions.
In the dry season, Mamukala Wetlands and Bird Hide displays the spectacle of thousands of magpie geese and whistling ducks congregating to feed. You can watch them from one of the bird hides or amble along the marked walking trails beside the tranquil wetlands. Walks vary from one to three kilometres.
Cahill’s Crossing
During the dry season the platform at the river-crossing from Kakadu into Arnhem Land is a fantastic and popular place to watch crocodiles in action. The best time to see them here is at high tide. A tide over six metres pushes up over the crossing, bringing bait fish like mullet and barramundi, and the crocs move downstream to wait for these treats. Beware of crocodiles, do not cross on foot.
Yellow Water Billabong
Yellow Water is one of Kakadu’s best-known landmarks. Located near Cooinda Lodge, Yellow Water is home to crocodiles, birds, barramundi and other wildlife. The billabong, which floods to join other waterways during the Top End Summer, attracts millions of birds each year, including jacana, egrets, jabiru, sea eagles, magpie geese and a number of migratory bird species. Paperbark forests, pandanus and freshwater mangroves line the banks, and the water is dotted with beautiful pink and white waterlilies. Explore the billabong by joining a wildlife cruise, or witness an unforgettable sunset from the boardwalk and viewing platform.
Take to the air in a light aircraft during the Tropical Summer (November – March) for a breathtaking view of Kakadu’s majestic Twin and Jim Jim waterfalls.
Take a cultural cruise on the East Alligator River.
Cruise the Yellow Water Billabong and spot birds, animals and big crocodiles.
Bird watch at Mardugal Billabong or try the Mardugal Billabong Walk.
Call in to the Bowali Visitor Centre for the latest information on Kakadu.
The Nature’s Way tourism drive is a great way to explore the park. The drive runs along the Arnhem Highway to Jabiru, then the Kakadu Highway to Pine Creek, and then south on to Katherine and Nitmiluk National Park.
Kakadu is shaped by water, being the catchment area for the South Alligator, East Alligator, Katherine, Roper and Daly Rivers. From November to May, waterfalls are at their most spectacular and the lowlands are flooded, attracting millions of migratory birds. The unique and diverse avian life in Kakadu includes jacanas, azure kingfishers, cuckoos, rufous owls, magpie geese, jabiru and more.
At the centre of the Park the small mining township of Jabiru offers a range of services and accommodation. Cooinda also offers accommodation and is located on the banks of Yellow Water, a billabong teeming with migratory birds, saltwater crocodiles and other wildlife. Cruises on Yellow Water depart daily. A visit to Kakadu is best started at the Bowali Visitor Centre near Jabiru or the Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Centre near Cooinda.
There is a wide range of accommodation in Kakadu including the unique Kakadu Crocodile Hotel, a crocodile-shaped complex that is an amazing sight when viewed from the air. Resort-style accommodation is also available at Cooinda, a village on the famous Yellow Water Billabong, while family friendly resorts are located in Jabiru as well as at the entrance to Kakadu on the South Alligator River.
Kakadu National Park Entry Fee
Kakadu National Park reintroduced a park entry fee in 2010 to help manage the natural and cultural values of the park environment and improve visitor services. Like many World Heritage sites around the world, a park use helps maintain world-best management practices and facilities for the more than 200,000 visitors who experience Kakadu each year.
The $25 fee (inclusive of GST) will apply to all interstate and international visitors aged 16 years and over. All Northern Territory residents and children under 16 will be exempt. Tickets and more information are available on the Kakadu website www.kakadu.com.au .
Bowali Visitor Centre
Open daily.
Before exploring Kakadu National Park, get familiarised by exploring the Bowali Visitor Centre, where you can watch a 25 minute audio visual presentation to help you gain a greater understanding of Kakadu’s landscape and moods, then take a walk through the interpretive displays. Videos are shown on the half hour giving different perspectives on Kakadu and its international significance. The habitat based display and library gives detailed information about the Park and how much there is to see and do. Take a look at The Marrawuddi Gallery for Aboriginal arts and crafts, books and gifts, and then enjoy a coffee at the cafe.
Jim Jim Falls
Open daily 6.30am to 8.30pm subject to weather conditions.
Whether the falls are raging with water or the merest trickle, this majestic waterfall is a sight to behold. Set in the red ochre of the Arnhem Land escarpment, and boasting white sandy beaches and crystal clear water, it is worth the two kilometre return walk across rocks to appreciate this special area.
Twin Falls
Open daily, subject to weather conditions. Tour fee applies.
Twin Falls is set in the Arnhem Land escarpment. Take a ranger-guided boat cruise, followed by a bushwalk and a scenic stroll along a boardwalk to the cascading falls. You will be rewarded by panoramic views of the towering red escarpment and sparkling waters. Afterwards, sit down and relax on the white sandy shore.
Maguk / Barramundi Gorge
Open daily, subject to weather conditions.
A one kilometre walk through monsoon rainforest leads to the base of a beautiful plunge pool. Maguk / Barramundi Gorge is a scenic and tranquil place to enjoy a refreshing swim in a series of small waterholes. The water is crystal clear and a short hike to the top of the waterfall is well worth the effort, affording a panoramic view.
Yellow Water Billabong
Open daily.
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