Initially made popular by strong marketing and the Movie Crocodile Dundee. It must be stressed it is a difficult place to appreciate in a short visit and while it is as beautiful as the claims experiencing that beauty requires some planning.

To fully explore this Park you need to travel off the main highway. If you were to travel straight through the national park on the main Arnhem and Kakadu Highways you would miss out on what all the fuss is about.

Things to See and Do

Scenic Flights : Kakadu Air (phone: 1800 089 113) operates out of the airport at Jabiru East offering one-hour scenic flights along the escarpment and wetlands .

Scenic flights depart regularly or on request from Cooinda Airstrip. Many of the spectacular features of the park and the vastness of its landscapes can only be fully appreciated from the air. This is especially true in the wet season when road access to some areas are restricted and highlights such as Jim Jim and Twin Falls are in full flow.

Boat tours : Tours depart regularly from Yellow Water and the East Alligator River. Bookings are required and is one of the best ways to see the park. Refer specific information under these locations.

Bushwalking: A leaflet at the Bowali Visitor Centre lists twenty five marked trails in the park. Most are short nature trails but included are some that offer a medium level of challenge to experienced bushwalkers (such as the twelve-kilometre Bark Walk - a six-hour trek through Nourlangie Rock's back country).

Experienced bushwalkers can apply to Park HQ with proposed itineraries, which need to be approved before a permit is given. Specific popular walks have been approved by traditional owners and generally permits are issued for these areas and denied for other areas. Allow seven days for processing permits.

4WD tours : Tours to Jim Jim and Twin Falls, Maguk and Gunlom leave from Jabiru and Cooinda, in the Dry season (May to October) if you drive into the park by conventional two wheel drive.

Nth Entrance Region

Mamukala Wetlands : Mamukala is a wetlands observation platform with well presented information. Beautiful all year round, it is at its most dramatic in the late Dry Season, when thousands of Magpie Geese congregate to feed. Choose from a 1km to 3km walk to see more of the wetlands. Open all year round, entry is free.

Gungarre Monsoon walk : Surrounding Kakadu Resort Gungarre Monsoon forest and billabong walk takes you through a monsoon forest, along the edge of a billabong and finally through fringing woodlands. View plant life and Aboriginal use of plants from the three habitats, monsoonal vine forest, floodplain and woodland. The walk is open all year round, is 3.0km and takes up to 1.5 hours.

Two Mile Hole & Four Mile Hole : Designated camping areas besides two billabongs that have abundant wildlife especially late in the dry season.

Bowali Visitor Centre : This excellent (both in design and content) information centre displays information from both the Gukburlerri (Aboriginal) and Guhbele (non-Aboriginal perspective). Information includes audio visual displays, park notes and the latest information on ranger lead walks at many of the sites. Translations are in four languages. The complex includes a café and gift shop. Open: Daily 8am to 5pm. Phone: (08) 8938 1120, Admission is free.

Ranger Uranium Mine : Located 4km out from Jabiru Ranger Uranium Mine run daily tours of what is visually an unimpressive operation. The tour itself focuses on informing visitors of the safety and environmental measures that are in place to protect the surrounding National Park. Open: Tours at 9.15am, 10.15am, 1.15pm & 2.30pm; Phone: 08 8979 2411

East Alligator Region

East Alligator River : An attractive stretch of river that forms the boundary between Kakadu and Arnhem Land. A commercial boat cruise is available, and a boat ramp is located both upstream and downstream of the crossing. Boat Hire is available from the Border Store at reasonable rates. Cruising along this stretch of river is one of the highlights of a visit to Kakadu yet little known by mainstream tourists

Crossing the East Alligator River at Cahills crossing is not permitted unless you have a permit. A good reason is required. (See Northern Land Council 08 8979 2410). If you do have a Permit, be very careful crossing this river. Despite the signs warning of the danger including photos, every year vehicles get washed away. The river is tidal so a few hours wait can save you much heartache. Tides at Cahills Crossing are about six hours behind Darwin Tides..

The whole region is only accessible during the dry because the Magela Creek floods the road on the way in.

Guluyambi Aboriginal Culture Cruise : This cruise gives visitors the opportunity to see the spectacular escarpment and rock paintings at Arnhemland's edge. Guides on the cruise are local aboriginal people who explain some of the local customs. The cruise gives you a chance to set foot, albeit briefly, on Arnhemland. You are certain to see crocodiles on this cruise. Bookings recommended. A recommended attraction. Allow: 90 mins Phone: 1800 089 113

Ubirr : The rock-galleries at Ubirr are one of the world's best known collections of ancient art. The paintings illustrate the rich food resources of the wetlands. Fish, lizards and marsupials including the now extinct Tasmanian Tiger. The Lookout offers a beautiful view across the East Alligator wetland especially at Sunset. Ranger talks usually correspond with the sunset and bus tour operators are encouraged not to visit at this time. A recommended attraction and a recommended time to visit. Bill Neidjie one of the most famous Aboriginal people in Kakadu lives in this area and occasionally comes up to the rock. Open: 8.30 am - Sunset (1st May - 30th Nov) 2.00 pm - Sunset (1st Dec - 30th Apr)

Bushwalking : Four walking tracks ranging from the easy 1 km walk at Ubirr to a 8 km trip that takes approximately 3 hrs return through escarpment along the East Alligator River. For a summary of the walks refer Park Brochure "Walking tracks in Kakadu" . The 1 hr Bardedjilidji walk leads to the rocky outcrops of Arnhemland and is one of Kakadu's best short walks. A recommended attraction. Don't forget water and sun protection.

Nourlangie District

Nourlangie Rock : Kakadu's most accessible and therefore most visited site. It includes the Anbangbang Rock Shelter, where there is evidence of occupation stretching back twenty thousand years. The Anbangbang Gallery, nearby, depicts the dramatic figures of Nabulwinjbulwinj, Namarrgon (the Lightning Man) and his wife Barrkinj.

A 1.5 km circular walk will take you past an ancient Aboriginal shelter and several outstanding art sites. There is also a moderately steep climb to Gunwarddehwardde lookout, which provides impressive views of Kakadu's escarpment and Nourlangie Rock. Open 7.30am to 5.00pm daily all year round. Cost: entry is free and rangers conduct guided talks of the area

Anbangbang Billabong : Anbangbang Billabong is nearby Nourlangie Rock with a picnic site and dense carpet of lilies.

Nanguluwar Art Site : This art site is a flat 4 km, 1.5 hr walk from Nourlangie Rock. The fact that the access road is very corrugated and doesn't get tour buses means the art site sees fewer visitors. Nanguluwur includes images from the Contact period when Aborigines first encountered explorers and settlers.

Nawulandja Lookout : Nawulandja Lookout looks onto the imposing hulk of Nourlangie Rock itself, which looms over Anbangbang Billabong. During the Dry, a two-and-a-half-kilometre track circumvents the billabong.

Gubara : Gubara or Burdulba Springs, an unsealed 13 km off the Nourlangie road, is a string of small pools along a palm-shaded creek, itself a hot forty-minute walk from the car park.

Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Centre : Like the Bowali Information Centre, this centre was recently refit by the Australian Nature Conservation Agency. The centre was constructed to give insight into the culture of the park's traditional owners. The building itself is circular, which is a symbol for the way the Aboriginal people sit in a circle when having a meeting. The shape is also reminiscent of the warradjan (pig nosed turtle) hence the name. Inside, the displays depict creation stories when the first people laid out the land and the laws.

Its an excellent display, with crafts made by the local people as well as audio visual displays. There is also a craft shop selling locally made items such as didgeridoos and T-shirts

Signs invite the visitor to move through the display, as a Rainbow Serpent (creation ancestor) moves through the country. Open: daily from 8.30am - 5pm.Cost: entry is free.

Yellow Waters : Yellow Water Billabong lies 6.5 km off the Kakadu Highway near Cooinda. A pristine environment which supports a wonderful variety of plants, birds and animals. Boardwalks and cruises (either 1.5 hrs or 2 hrs) are very popular providing great views of the abounding wildlife. Open daily, however check for boardwalk access, and entry is free.

Yellow Water Cruises : From the car park here, a short walk leads along the edge of the billabong, from where popular cruises (five daily; book in advance on 08 8979 0145). The early-morning cruise catches the lagoon and wildlife at their best: heat-of-the-day tours are thirty minutes shorter and a few dollars cheaper.

Jim Jim & Southern Region

Bilbilkimbi - Graveside Gorge (4x4) : A beautiful and remote part of the park that is accessed via a difficult 4WD track. A very attractive rockhole with the opportunity for a refreshing swim in one of the many crystal clear waterholes upstream.

This is a very remote and pristine area and much of the walking is "cross-country". You can spend all day exploring, swimming with plenty of opportunity for bird watching, photography or simply relaxing in this peaceful wilderness area. The area is best explored by camping and bushwalking over a couple of days but makes a good day trip.

Gunlom Plunge Pool (Waterfall Creek Falls) : Not as well known as Jim Jim and Twin Falls but Gunlom is well worth the visit. A serene waterfall and plunge pool. Has camping facilities, fresh water, toilets and a picnic area with fireplace

The falls don't flow all year round, the flat land below the escarpment leads to a billabong and creek. Neither can be swum in because of the risk of crocodiles. The park rangers clear the crocodiles out of the main plunge pool at the end of the wet so that it can be used for swimming

There is a steep path to the top of the falls revealing more plunge pools and a spectacular view of the Arnhemland Escarpment.

Open: From April to November. Cost: Entry is free but camping fees apply.

Guratba (Coronation Hill) : A picnic site on the South Alligator River, this is the site of a former uranium mine. To local Jawoyn Aborigines this area is traditionally "Sickness Country", suggesting that even in its natural state uranium proved harmful to human health.

Jim Jim & Twin Falls (4x4)

These two falls are the most advertised in the Top End and are worth visiting;

Access to both falls is off the Kakadu Hwy along a relatively challenging 4WD track. The last 10 km to the Jim Jim campsite is slow sand. A further 10 km of 4WD track takes you out to Twin Falls - but first you must cross the Jim Jim Creek. a guided crossing between white posts is available but check water level before crossing.

Allow two hours driving time one way to Jim Jim a further 3/4 hr to Twin Falls.

Jim Jim Falls cascades over 200m straight off the edge of the escarpment and are best visited in the early Dry, as soon as the road reopens - as they often stop flowing later in the season and will certainly look less impressive. A rocky, one-kilometre trail leads alongside the large pool to the base of the falls.

Twin Falls is a rough ten-kilometre drive from Jim Jim, including the crossing of Jim Jim Creek. From the car park it's a short walk to an newly constructed walkway which makes it more accessible for tourists. Historically you need to swim as much as 800m to get to the falls. Please note both falls quickly become inaccessible after the first big rains.

During the dry the rock formations are still worth seeing, but the spouting, raging, foaming torrent of water that makes the falls such a wonderful sight is often missing.

Open for 4WD access only from June to November, entry is $10 in 2005.

Koolpin Gorge (4x4) : A beautiful gorge, but access is limited to keep it in its pristine wilderness state. The creek flows down several hundred feet. A permit and entry key must be organised in advance. Open for 4WD access only from May to November, a deposit for the entry key is required. The key is available from the Southern Entry Station on the Pine Creek road where you must leave a $50 deposit. The track to the gorge is a challenging 4WD track, ending just before the actual gorge which begins 1km upstream and continues deep into the escarpment. You can camp here or follow the escarpment on foot to the northwest for 3 km to the narrow chasm of Freezing Gorge which, you'll be pleased to discover, lives up to its name.

Maguk (Barramundi Gorge) (4x4) : Maguk is a small yet spectacular waterfall and clear plunge pool 2 km walk from the car park through monsoon forest. Considered to be the best of Kakadu's few swimming holes and well worth the trip time permitting. Several picturesque picnic areas can be found in this area, as well as other smaller plunge pools and waterfalls set in monsoonal forest. It is 12 km off the Kakadu Hwy along a corrugated 4WD track. Driven carefully, robust 2WD cars can manage the twelve-kilometre corrugated track albeit very slowly.

Open May to November. The top of the waterfall and more rock pools can be reached by clambering up the tree roots to the right of the falls.