Kakadu National Park

Home > Blog > Kakadu National Park

Incredible Facts About Kakadu National Park

Incredible Facts About Kakadu National Park That Will Make You Want To Add This Place To Your Bucket List!

Kakadu National Park is famous for being home to the world’s oldest surviving culture, Northern Territory Aboriginal people. You can find Aboriginal rock art sites dating back 20,000 years, diverse landscapes, outstanding waterfalls and extraordinary sacred sites.

If that is not enough information to get you instantly booking your trip to this world heritage listing, then let’s delve into our incredible facts about Kakadu National Park!

Cool Facts About Kakadu National Park

1. It Is Not Located In Darwin

Kakadu is situated in the “Top End” of Australia in the Northern Territory. Darwin is the closest City to Kakadu but it is actually 150km South-East of Darwin and would take over 1 hour 30 minutes to drive to the entrance and then another hour to the other side..

2. It Is One Of Australia’s Largest National Park

Kakadu National Park is almost 20,000 square kilometres (19,816) which is almost the size of Jamaica and Cyprus combined.

The National Park is split into 7 regions to make it easier to get around. Each region is unique in it’s habitats:

Erre- East Alligator
South Alligator river
Jabiru
Jim Jim – Twin Falls
Mary River region
Nourlangie – Burrungkuy
Ngurrungurrudjba – Yellow Water

3. It Was Only Established As A National Park In The 70’s

Despite being NT’s largest National Park, Kakadu only started to be established under the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation act on 5th April 1979.

4. The Park Is One Of Four Australian Locations Listed As A Unesco World Heritage Site

In 1981, Kakadu National Park STAGE 1 was declared as a UNESCO world heritage site due to it’s beautiful landscape, historic cultural heritage and sacred sites.

5. This Aboriginal Land Is Home To The Oldest Continuous Culture In The World

Local Aboriginal people have lived in Kakadu for more than 65,000 years:

There are over 5,000 documented art sights in the region
The local Aboriginal population in Kakadu today is around 500
Some Aboriginal rock art sites are nearly 20,000 years old
In March 1978 and Aboriginal land rights claim was made
Almost all of Kakadu is Aboriginal land and owned by the traditional owners

6. It Is Managed By Partnership Of Traditional Owners And Parks Australia

Since the Aboriginal land claim, the traditional owners lease the land to the Director of National Parks and they jointly manage the National Park. The partnership between the Bininj/Mungguy Aboriginal people and Parks Australia means skills and knowledge about the land is shared and decisions are made together.

7. Kakadu National Park Is Home To An Abundance Of Animals

A tenth of all Northern Territory crocodiles live in Kakadu, the count is around 10,000
There are at least 280 different bird species in Kakadu
One third of all bird species in Australia live in Kakadu
There are around 60 species of fish in Kakadu

8. You Can Find The Greatest Variety Of Ecosystems In The Australian Continent In Kakadu National Park Alone

A biome is a large land area categorised by the vegetation, soil, climate and wildlife. In Kakadu National Park alone, you can find the largest diversity of ecosystems including savanna woodlands, floodplains, mangroves, open forests, monsoon forests, coastal areas and tidal mudflats.

Over 2,000 different plants grow in Kakadu
In summer, Kakadu grassy plains can reach over three meters high
Cathedral termite mounds can grow up to 20 feet in height
There are over 300 creeks and rivers in Kakadu

9. Kakadu’s Largest Waterfall Is Bigger Than All Waterfalls In Litchfield And Nitmiluk National Parks

How cool is that? Jim Jim Falls is 200 meters high and the water thunders over the drop in the wet season.

10. 6 Seasons are recognised in Kakadu National Park

There are 2 main seasons in Kakadu; wet and dry season. However, 6 seasons are recognised by the traditional owners:

Kudjewk – Monsoon season – December to Marc
Bangkerreng – “Knock ’em down” storm season – April
Yekke – Cooler but still humid season. May-mid June
Wurrkeng – Cold weather season. Mid-June-mid August
Kurrung – Hot dry weather season. Mid-August-mid October
Kunemeleng – Pre monsoon storm season. Mid-October- December

11. Kakadu gets almost as many tourists as Uluru each year

Over 210,000 tourists visit Kakadu National Park each year and 250,000 people visit Uluru each year.

You Can Tour Kakadu National Park Sustainably

Visiting a magnificent land that is home to the oldest surviving civilisation, diverse ecosystems and natural habitats is an incredible experience. But, in order to keep this sacred land protected for generations to come, it is important to respect to land and leave as little mark behind as possible. How is this achievable?

Book an experienced and knowledgable eco-tour guide! ethical adventures are environmentalists at heart who work to ensure the land and culture is protected. We offer only private or small group tours so we have minimal impact on the land but maximum impact on your travel experience.

Check out our Kakadu day tour from Darwin or our awesome multi-day Kakadu tour and join the growing community of responsible and respectful tourists!