Northern Territory Travel Guide
The Northern Territory of Australia is rich in history and rugged, natural beauty. Immerse yourself in Darwin’s melting pot of cuisines and cultures and explore the rainforest and Aboriginal rock art of World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park. Stay in the Red Centre town of Alice Springs and visit the iconic wonders of Uluru-Kata Tjuta and Kings Canyon. Cruise down vast Katherine Gorge and pan for gold at Tennant Creek.
Get our Ultimate Viewers' complete Northern Territory itinerary.
This land offers a huge array of wildlife, spectacular outback scenery and landscapes for outdoor adventure. Plan your trip with these suggestions from Tourism Australia.
First stop: Explore rock art galleries in Arnhem Land
Get our Ultimate Viewers' complete Northern Territory itinerary.
This land offers a huge array of wildlife, spectacular outback scenery and landscapes for outdoor adventure. Plan your trip with these suggestions from Tourism Australia.
First stop: Explore rock art galleries in Arnhem Land
Kakadu and Arnhem Land
Explore Kakadu National park to see wildlife, waterfalls and one of the world’s largest areas of accessible rock art. Take a bushwalk to spot rare and spectacular wildlife and plunge into sparkling waterholes. Explore the many rich and detailed Aboriginal rock art galleries. See Namarrgon, the Lightning Man at Nourlangie Rock and some of the world's finest examples of x-ray art at Ubirr Rock in Kakadu's North-East. North in wholly Aboriginal-owned Arnhem Land, you can fish off the spectacular beaches of the Gove Peninsula and in the creeks, reefs and ocean of the Cobourg Peninsula. Explore the eco-systems of Mount Borradaile with an Aboriginal guide and watch Aboriginal artists at work in the traditional community of Oenpelli.
Darwin
Soak up Darwin’s balmy weather and the melting pot of food and cultures in the city's many outdoor festivals and markets. Then explore the region's dramatic history in the museums and galleries. Sail Darwin harbor at sunset, cruise next to crocodiles and walk through monsoon forest. Take a day trip to Litchfield National Park, where you can swim in crystal-clear waterholes and see thousands of tall termite mounds. Or visit the Tiwi Islands, where you can watch traditional weaving and painting or immerse yourself in the noise and excitement of a local football game
Next: Historic Tennant Creek and Katherine
Explore Kakadu National park to see wildlife, waterfalls and one of the world’s largest areas of accessible rock art. Take a bushwalk to spot rare and spectacular wildlife and plunge into sparkling waterholes. Explore the many rich and detailed Aboriginal rock art galleries. See Namarrgon, the Lightning Man at Nourlangie Rock and some of the world's finest examples of x-ray art at Ubirr Rock in Kakadu's North-East. North in wholly Aboriginal-owned Arnhem Land, you can fish off the spectacular beaches of the Gove Peninsula and in the creeks, reefs and ocean of the Cobourg Peninsula. Explore the eco-systems of Mount Borradaile with an Aboriginal guide and watch Aboriginal artists at work in the traditional community of Oenpelli.
DarwinSoak up Darwin’s balmy weather and the melting pot of food and cultures in the city's many outdoor festivals and markets. Then explore the region's dramatic history in the museums and galleries. Sail Darwin harbor at sunset, cruise next to crocodiles and walk through monsoon forest. Take a day trip to Litchfield National Park, where you can swim in crystal-clear waterholes and see thousands of tall termite mounds. Or visit the Tiwi Islands, where you can watch traditional weaving and painting or immerse yourself in the noise and excitement of a local football game
Next: Historic Tennant Creek and Katherine
Photo: Thinkstock/iStockphoto © 2011
Tennant Creek
Pan for gold and explore an underground mine in the Battery Hill Mining Center. Visit the telegraph station built in 1872 to link Australia to the outside world. See the huge, precariously balanced boulders known as the Devils Marbles in the plains south of Tennant Creek. You can learn about their cultural significance to the Warumungu people at the Nyinkka Nyunyu Culture Center. Buy Aboriginal art in the tiny township of Ti Tree and visit Australia's UFO capital of Wycliffe Well. Stay on huge cattle stations north of town and in the vast Barkly Tablelands to the east.
Katherine
Explore the historic pioneering township of Katherine and see ancient Katherine Gorge in Nitmiluk National Park. Sink into the hot springs of the Daly River and fish in the remote waterways of the Gulf of Carpentaria. Spot rare wildlife and wander gorges in Gregory National Park, in which is considered part of the Victoria River region, and relax in Mataranka's sandy-bottomed thermal pool. Katherine's rugged and ancient landscapes—which stretch from the Gulf of Carpentaria to the West Australian border—also invite you to canoe, bushwalk, bird watch, camp and four-wheel drive.
Next: Alice Springs and Uluru will take your breath away
Pan for gold and explore an underground mine in the Battery Hill Mining Center. Visit the telegraph station built in 1872 to link Australia to the outside world. See the huge, precariously balanced boulders known as the Devils Marbles in the plains south of Tennant Creek. You can learn about their cultural significance to the Warumungu people at the Nyinkka Nyunyu Culture Center. Buy Aboriginal art in the tiny township of Ti Tree and visit Australia's UFO capital of Wycliffe Well. Stay on huge cattle stations north of town and in the vast Barkly Tablelands to the east.
Katherine Explore the historic pioneering township of Katherine and see ancient Katherine Gorge in Nitmiluk National Park. Sink into the hot springs of the Daly River and fish in the remote waterways of the Gulf of Carpentaria. Spot rare wildlife and wander gorges in Gregory National Park, in which is considered part of the Victoria River region, and relax in Mataranka's sandy-bottomed thermal pool. Katherine's rugged and ancient landscapes—which stretch from the Gulf of Carpentaria to the West Australian border—also invite you to canoe, bushwalk, bird watch, camp and four-wheel drive.
Next: Alice Springs and Uluru will take your breath away
Uluru-Kata Tjuta
Lose your breath at Uluru, which rises 348 meters from the desert and matches the light and weather with shades so vivid they upstage the sunset. Learn about Uluru's cultural significance as you walk around its base with an Aboriginal Anangu guide. Get up close to the grandeur of nearby Kata Tjuta—sacred russet domes formed through millions of years of erosion—on the Valley of the Winds Walk. In Watarrka National Park, you can trek to the rim of Kings Canyon and swim in a waterhole in the lush valley of the Garden of Eden. Walk to Kathleen Springs, drive the Mereenie Loop or soar over the canyon on a helicopter.
Alice Springs
Stay in the famous outback town of Alice Springs, which sits in Australia's red heart. From here you can bushwalk, four-wheel drive or join a camel trek across the rolling sand dunes of the Simpson Desert. Trek through Ormiston Gorge and Pound, visit breathtaking Glen Helen Gorge and see rock wallabies at Simpsons Gap, all in the nearby East and West MacDonnell Ranges. Bike ride to Simpsons Gap at dawn, discover different Aboriginal art styles along the Tanami Track and explore the rock art, artifacts and ceremonial sites near the small Aboriginal community of St.Teresa.
Get our Ultimate Viewers' complete Northern Territory itinerary.
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Lose your breath at Uluru, which rises 348 meters from the desert and matches the light and weather with shades so vivid they upstage the sunset. Learn about Uluru's cultural significance as you walk around its base with an Aboriginal Anangu guide. Get up close to the grandeur of nearby Kata Tjuta—sacred russet domes formed through millions of years of erosion—on the Valley of the Winds Walk. In Watarrka National Park, you can trek to the rim of Kings Canyon and swim in a waterhole in the lush valley of the Garden of Eden. Walk to Kathleen Springs, drive the Mereenie Loop or soar over the canyon on a helicopter.
Alice SpringsStay in the famous outback town of Alice Springs, which sits in Australia's red heart. From here you can bushwalk, four-wheel drive or join a camel trek across the rolling sand dunes of the Simpson Desert. Trek through Ormiston Gorge and Pound, visit breathtaking Glen Helen Gorge and see rock wallabies at Simpsons Gap, all in the nearby East and West MacDonnell Ranges. Bike ride to Simpsons Gap at dawn, discover different Aboriginal art styles along the Tanami Track and explore the rock art, artifacts and ceremonial sites near the small Aboriginal community of St.Teresa.
Get our Ultimate Viewers' complete Northern Territory itinerary.
Browse travel guides for all parts of Australia
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