Kakadu National Park

Tourism NT

Kakadu National Park is one of the larger national parks in the world, consisting of four major river systems and various landforms. It is the breeding habitat of the endangered saltwater crocodile and the pig-nosed turtle. Its flora is very diverse and includes 46 rare or threatened species.

The park is also renowned for the richness of its Aboriginal cultural sites. There are more than 5000 recorded art sites illustrating Aboriginal culture over thousands of years. The archaeological sites demonstrate Aboriginal occupation for at least 20 000 and possibly 50 000 years.

Kakadu is one of the few mixed world heritage sites. It was listed in three stages: Stage 1 in 1981, Stage 2 in 1987, and the entire Park in 1992.

Year	Decision	Comments
1992	Extended
1987	Extended
1986	Deferred	At request of Australia to permit bigger area
1981	Inscribed	Reasons for inscription

Reviews

Emilia Bautista King (U.S.A.):
I had the great opportunity to travel from the University of Melbourne all the way to Kakadu with a group of uni students. We hiked up Jim Jim Falls for 5 days. The experience was unforgettable, as we camped under the stars only in our sleeping bags (lugging tents while hiking up the falls was not an option). I truly felt at peace, spending my days swimming and hiking. This is a heritage site not to be missed!

Date posted: February 2006

Klaus Freisinger (Austria):
Even though I was in Kakadu only for two days, I enjoyed it a lot. This place is immensely fascinating and truly deserves its place on the WH list. The wildlife is great - yes, you can easily spot crocodiles -, the flora stunning, and the rock carvings and paintings add another interesting feature as well. I was there during rainy season, you could hardly go anywhere without a boat, and it was raining most of the time, but still this is one of my favorite places in Australia, if not the world. I hope that Kakadu will remain the wild place it is now, since I have heard that UNESCO has reprimanded Australia for allowing mining to continue in the park.

Rob Wilson (UK):
I only spent a few days in Kakadu, but I wish I could have spent a month. This is a truly beautiful place, that should be a must for all visitors to northern Australia.

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