Tourist Attractions In Australia

Kakadu National Park - One Of The Big Australian Tourist Attractions

World Heritage listed Kakadu National Park is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Australia, and rightfully so.

Bring enough time when you visit Kakadu.

Browse through all the information about Kakadu National Park that I have gathered on this site and you will see just how much there is to discover...

It is hard to put the magic of Kakadu into words. Facts are just facts, though these are impressive.

Almost 20,000 square kilometres (3.2 million acres) in size - the size of a small European country - the park is the only one in the world to protect the entire catchment area of a major river system, the South Alligator River.
The habitats range from the high stone plateau to forest woodland, monsoon rainforest to open savannah-like flood plains dotted with billabongs, mangrove-fringed estuaries to coastal beaches of the Arafura Sea.
As a result of the diversity of habitats the park contains over 1000 plant species, a quarter of all the freshwater fish species found in Australia, and over one-third of all the bird species. Add reptiles, mammals, amphibians, and thousands of insect species… a reminder that the tropics really are the breeding ground for the whole planet.
Aborigines have lived in Kakadu for at least 25,000 years (perhaps as long as 50,000 years), the longest continuous surviving human culture in the world. The park is one of the few World Heritage sites to be listed for both natural and cultural reasons. Kakadu is a treasure chest of exceptional galleries of Aboriginal art, some dating back to the Ice Age.

These facts helped to make Kakadu National Park one of the major tourist attractions in Australia, but they cannot convey the experience of a visit to Kakadu.

Kakadu is versatile, it will be whatever you want it to be:

Enjoy untouched wilderness or outstanding tourism facilities.
Take daylong hikes through magnificent bushland without seeing another soul or take an organised river cruise.
Learn about Aboriginal art and culture or have fun and games when swimming at the waterfalls.
Join the free guided walks and talks or do your own thing.

Being one of the biggest tourist attractions in Australia means Kakadu can be reached by several means, explored many ways, there is lots to see and do and many places where you can stay:

Whoever you are and whatever you are looking for, the Kakadu National Park section of this website will help you find it.

Note: many websites show an entry fee for Kakadu Natioal Park. That is not true. Since December 2004 access is free. Kakadu's Aboriginal owners only ask one thing of you: respect.

"If you respect the land, then you will feel the land.
Your experience will be one that you
cannot get anywhere else in the world."

(Brian Baruwei - Wurrkbarbar clan. Aboriginal traditional owner)

Kakadu is a jointly managed national park. The traditional owners are proud to share their country with visitors.

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Read about other National Parks in Australia

Australian National Parks Site Map

To discover more Tourist Attractions in Australia return to Outback Australia Travel Guide home page