Nitmiluk National Park

Nitmiluk National Park sits about 30 km north-east of Katherine in the Northern Territory, on a sealed road suitable for any vehicle. From Darwin it is roughly a 3 to 3.5 hour drive south down the Stuart Highway, a distance of around 320 km. The Visitor Centre at the gorge is the main entry point for cruises, walks and canoe hire.

Nitmiluk is the Country of the Jawoyn people, who hold freehold title and jointly manage the park with NT Parks and Wildlife. The name "Nitmiluk" is the Jawoyn word for the first gorge and means "place of the cicada". The land was returned to the Jawoyn in 1989 and the park was renamed at that time.

Yes. Interstate and international visitors need an NT Parks Visitor Pass to enter Nitmiluk and most other NT parks. A 2 week pass is currently $30 per adult or $75 for a family, and an annual pass is $60 per adult or $150 for a family. Passes can be bought online before you arrive or at the Visitor Centre.

The Katherine River has carved 13 sandstone gorges through ancient stone country, separated by rocky rapids. In the dry season the rapids are exposed, so cruise boats and canoes can only travel one gorge at a time and you walk between them. To see all 13 in one go you need a helicopter flight or the multi-day Jatbula Trail walk.

Nitmiluk Tours, the Jawoyn-owned operator, runs 1, 2 and 3 gorge cruises from the Visitor Centre, plus a sunset dinner cruise. The 2 gorge "NitNit Dreaming" cruise is the most popular option and takes around 3.5 hours including the walk between gorges. Cruises operate year round, switching to jet boats when wet season levels rise.

Yes. Nitmiluk Tours hires single and double canoes for half day, full day and overnight trips, typically running June to November when river levels are safe. A short ferry takes you to the start of the first gorge, and overnight paddlers can camp at the fifth gorge under the stars. Bookings are essential as numbers are capped to protect the river.

Saltwater crocodiles can swim up the Katherine River during the wet season when water levels are high. Each year at the end of the wet, NT Parks rangers set traps and run extensive surveys to remove any salties before the gorge reopens for swimming and canoeing in the dry season. Always swim only in areas Parks NT has declared open and follow ranger advice.

The dry season from May to September is the most reliable time, with warm sunny days, clear water and full access to walks, swimming holes and canoeing. The wet season from November to March is hot, humid and dramatic, with thundering waterfalls and lush green country, but flooding can close roads and the cruise switches to jet boats. October and April are useful shoulder months.

Leliyn, also known as Edith Falls, is the northern section of Nitmiluk National Park, around 60 km north of Katherine off the Stuart Highway. It has a large paperbark-fringed swimming hole at the base of the falls, plus an upper pool reached by a short loop walk. There is a campground with hot showers and a kiosk run by Nitmiluk Tours.

Yes. Nitmiluk Heli-Touring offers doors-off scenic flights from the Visitor Centre, with a 3 gorge flight (about 8 minutes), an 8 gorge flight (about 15 minutes) and a full 13 gorge flight (about 20 minutes). Longer flights can be upgraded to land on a remote escarpment for a swim in a private rock pool. Flights run year round, weather permitting.

Inside the park, Cicada Lodge is the upmarket Jawoyn-owned option with 18 boutique rooms a short walk from the gorge, while Nitmiluk Tours runs a campground with powered and unpowered sites, cabins and a pool. Leliyn (Edith Falls) has its own bush campground at the northern end. Many visitors also base themselves in Katherine town, 30 km away, where there is a wider choice of motels and caravan parks.