Summary

Home to two world National Heritage-listed parks; Kakadu and Uluru.

World Heritage Areas

• Kakadu National Park
• Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park

Contact details

Northern Territory Parks and Reserves:
https://nt.gov.au/leisure/parks-reserves

Northern Territory Tourism:
https://northernterritory.com/things-to-do/nature-and-wildlife/national-parks

Walks in Northern Territory

Easy

500 m return

15 mins

Karlu Karlu Walk

Karlu Karlu translates as 'round boulders', or the Devils Marbles, is a living cultural landscape and traditional country of the Warumunga, Kaytetye, Alyawarra and Warlpiri people. These granite boulders, many of which are precariously balanced on top of one another are scattered across the wide shallow valley that makes up the Reserve.

Easy

1.6 km return

45 mins

Mayijangu & Lookout Walk

Nyanjiki Lookout providing panoramic views of the Reserve and the opportunity to 'rock hop' the marbles. These granite boulders, many of which are precariously balanced on top of one another are scattered across the wide shallow valley that makes up the Reserve.

Easy

1 km return

40 mins

Mushroom Rock (Rainbow Valley Conservation Reserve)

A 1 km loop walk allows visitors to view Mushroom Rock, an interesting sandstone formation with many Fairy Martin (Petrochelidon ariel) nests attached to the upper walls.

Easy

5.2 km return

90 mins

Nurrku Walk & Yakkula Loop

This walk provides visitors with a longer opportunity to experience the wider Reserve. These granite boulders, many of which are precariously balanced on top of one another are scattered across the wide shallow valley that makes up the Reserve.

Easy

200 m return

5 mins

Old Police Station (Arltunga Historic Reserve)

The Old Police Station: was built in 1912, and was the subject of the Reserves most major reconstruction effort in 1985. Step into the gaol and sense what it might have been like to be a prisoner in those days. Nearby you can examine the Two stamp Battery erected to crush White Range ore by the McIntyre family in the late 1950s. Nearby is Kangaroo Well, a 23 m deep permanent water supply, which was one of the most productive wells in the district.

Easy

600 m return

15 mins

The Pebbles

Kunjarra, The Pebbles are a natural rock formation surrounded by myth and legend; a women's place. Kunjarra is believed by the Warumungu Aboriginal people to be related to the Devils Marbles and are a sacred site where a number of dancing and healing rituals have been traditionally carried out.
Due to the significance of the site, visitors are asked not to climb on the rocks.

Easy

1 km return

1 hr

Tnorala (Gosse Bluff) Conservation Reserve

According to Aboriginal belief, Tnorala was formed in the creation time, when a group of women danced across the sky as the Milky Way. During this dance, a mother put her baby aside, resting in it’s wooden baby-carrier (tarne - pronounced tar-na). The carrier toppled over the edge of the dancing area and crashed to earth where it was transformed into the circular rock walls of Tnorala. The Aboriginal and scientific interpretation of the Bluff are similar in that both have a celestial origin. Scientists believe that around 142.5 million years ago anobject from space, believed to be a comet about 600 metres wide, crashed to earth, blasting a crater some 20 km across. Today’s landsurface is about 2 km lower than the original impact surface and the
bluff is about 5 km in diameter, reduced over time by erosion. The remnant crater was named Gosses Range by the explorer Ernest Giles in 1872 after H. Gosse, a fellow of the Royal Society.

Walks in Finke Gorge National Park

Medium

2 km return

1 hr

Arankaia Walk

In Palm Valley, the Arankaia Walk (2 km, 1 hour) and the longer Mpulungkinya Walk (5 km, 2 hrs return) meander alongside a lush oasis of slender palms and return to the carpark across the plateau.

Easy

1.5 km return

45 mins

Kalarranga Lookout

Kalarranga Lookout (1.5 km, 45 minute return) is an easy 20 minute climb with spectacular views of a rock amphitheatre encircled by rugged cliffs.

Medium

5 km return

2 hrs

Mpaara Walk

The Mpaara Walk (5 km, 2 hours return) begins at Kalarranga carpark and introduces some of the mythology of Western Aranda Aboriginal culture. Walkers will be rewarded with beautiful views of the ampitheatre.