Sights in Kakadu National Park
- Sort by:
- Popular
-
Ubirr
Ubirr is 39km north of the Arnhem Hwy via a sealed road. It'll take a lot more than the busloads of visitors to disturb Ubirr's inherent majesty and grace. Layers of paintings, in various styles and from various centuries, command a mesmerising stillness.
Part of the main gallery reads like a menu, with images of kangaroos, tortoises and fish painted in X-ray, which became the dominant style about 8000 years ago. Predating these are the paintings of mimi spirits: cheeky, dynamic figures who, it's believed, were the first of the Creation Ancestors to paint on rock. (Given the lack of cherry-pickers in 6000 BC, you have to wonder who else but a spirit could have painted at …
reviewed
-
Nourlangie Area
The sight of this looming outlier of the Arnhem Land escarpment makes it easy to understand its ancient importance to Aboriginal people. Its long red-sandstone bulk, striped in places with orange, white and black, slopes up from surrounding woodland to fall away at one end in stepped cliffs. Below is Kakadu's best-known collection of rock art.
The 2km loop takes you first to the Anbangbang rock shelter, used for 20,000 years as a refuge and canvas. Next is the Anbangbang Gallery, featuring Dreaming characters repainted in the '60s. From here it's a short walk to Gunwarddehwarde lookout, with views of the Arnhem Land escarpment.
Nourlangie is at the end of a 12km sealed roa…
reviewed
-
Jim Jim Falls & Twin Falls
Jim Jim Falls a sheer 215m drop, is awesome after rain - so they say, but it's inaccessible in the Wet when it rains, so we'll have to take their word for it. It shrivels to a drip in the Dry, but you can usually swim in its inky pool and bask on the bank. Twin Falls flows year-round (no swimming), but half the fun is getting there, involving a little boat trip and an over-the-water boardwalk.
These two iconic waterfalls are along a 4WD track that turns south off the Kakadu Hwy between the Nourlangie and Cooinda turn-offs. It's about 57km from the turn-off to Jim Jim Falls (the last 1km on foot) and a further 10 corrugated kilometres to Twin Falls. The track is open in th…
reviewed
-
Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Centre
About 1km from the Cooinda resort (an easy 15 minutes walk), the Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Centre depicts creation stories and has an excellent permanent exhibition that includes clap sticks, sugar-bag holders and rock-art samples. You’ll be introduced to the moiety system (internal tribal division) and skin names, and there’s a minitheatre with a huge selection of films from which to choose.
reviewed
-
Gunlom
Conventional vehicle drivers fear not. Gunlom is another superb escarpment waterfall and plunge pool 40-odd kilometres south of the dreamy Maguk (Barramundi Gorge; 45km south of Cooinda and 10km along a corrugated 4WD track) turn-off. It's located 37km along an unsealed, though easily do-able, gravel road. Walk the steep Waterfall Walk (one hour, 1km), which affords incredible views.
reviewed
-
Maguk
This southern section of Kakadu National Park sees far fewer tour buses. Though it's unlikely you'll have dreamy Maguk to yourself, you might time it right to have the glorious natural pool and falls between just a few of you.
reviewed
-
Yellow Water Wetlands
A very popular wetlands near Cooinda. The turn-off to the Cooinda accommodation complex and Yellow Water wetlands is 47km down the Kakadu Hwy from the Arnhem Hwy intersection.
reviewed
