Kakadu National Park

Kakadu National Park

Aboriginal people have occupied the Kakadu area continuously for at least 40,000 years. Kakadu National Park is renowned for the richness of its Aboriginal cultural sites. There are more than 5,000 recorded art sites illustrating Aboriginal culture over thousands of years. The archaeological sites demonstrate Aboriginal occupation for at least 20,000 and possibly up to 40,000 years.

The Aboriginal traditional owners of the park are descendants of various clan groups from the Kakadu area and have longstanding affiliations with this country. Their lifestyle has changed in recent years, but their traditional customs and beliefs remain very important. About 500 Aboriginal people live in the park, many of them are traditional owners. All of Kakadu is jointly managed by Aboriginal traditional owners and the Australian Government’s Department of the Environment and Water Resources through a division known as Parks Australia. Park Management is directed by the Kakadu Board of Management.

Kakadu National Park is an enormous, biodiverse nature reserve in Australia’s Northern Territory. With terrain encompassing wetlands, rivers and sandstone escarpments, it’s home to some 2,000 plant species and wildlife from saltwater crocodiles and flatback turtles to birds. Aboriginal rock paintings, dating to prehistoric times, can be viewed at sites such as Nourlangie, Nanguluwur and Ubirr.

Beneath waters dotted with lotus flowers, saltwater crocodiles lurk. Jagged peaks of towering escarpments hide pockets of monsoon rainforest. Waterfalls cascade into pools fringed with paperbarks, pandanus and cycads. You can view the spectacular Jim Jim Falls, browse through a gallery of ancient Aboriginal rock art at Ubirr or Nourlangie Rock, or explore the scenic Yellow Water, a billabong teeming with wildlife. Around 1,000 plant species, a quarter of all Australian freshwater fish species, and over one third of Australian bird species can be found in the Park.