Must-see attractions in Northern Territory

  • Trephina Gorge Nature Park

    Northern Territory

    If you only have time for a couple of stops in the East MacDonnell Ranges, make Trephina Gorge Nature Park (75km from Alice) one of them. The play between…

  • People at food stall at Mindil Beach Sunset Market.

    Mindil Beach Sunset Market

    Darwin

    Food is the main attraction here − from Thai, Sri Lankan, Indian, Chinese and Malaysian to Brazilian, Greek, Portuguese and more − all at around $6 to $12…

  • Uluru (Ayers Rock) Sunset

    Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park

    Northern Territory

    Nothing can really prepare you for the immensity, grandeur, changing colour and stillness of 'the Rock'. It really is a sight that will sear itself on to…

  • Saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) lounging in pool at Crocosaurus Cove.

    Crocosaurus Cove

    Darwin

    If the tourists won't go out to see the crocs, then bring the crocs to the tourists. Right in the middle of Mitchell St, Crocosaurus Cove is as close as…

  • Simpsons Gap

    Northern Territory

    One of the prettiest corners of the West MacDonnell Ranges, Simpsons Gap, 22km by road from Alice Springs and 8km off Larapinta Dr along a paved road,…

  • Kakadu National Park

    Northern Territory

    Kakadu is one of the world's great national parks, combining an astonishing array of attractions. Its wetlands and escarpments shelter abundant wildlife,…

  • Arltunga Historical Reserve

    Northern Territory

    At the eastern end of the MacDonnell Ranges, 110km east of Alice Springs, the old gold-mining ghost town of Arltunga (33km on an unsealed road from the…

  • Ubirr

    Kakadu National Park

    It takes a lot more than the busloads of visitors to disturb Ubirr's inherent majesty and grace. Layers of rock-art paintings, in various styles and from…

  • Territory Wildlife Park

    Northern Territory

    This excellent park showcases the best of Top End Aussie wildlife. Pride of place must go to the aquarium, where a clear walk-through tunnel puts you…

  • Ormiston Gorge

    Northern Territory

    If you've only time for one stop in the West MacDonnell Ranges, make it here. There's a waterhole shaded with ghost gums and the gorge curls around to the…

  • Cahill's Crossing

    Kakadu National Park

    It may be small, but there can be few more dramatic frontiers in Australia. This shallow causeway, which is impassable when the tide's in, crosses the…

  • Maguk

    Kakadu National Park

    Though it's unlikely you'll have dreamy Maguk to yourself, you might time it right to have the glorious natural pool and falls between just a few of you…

  • Tnorala

    Northern Territory

    Protected by a combination of remoteness and difficult access, Tnorala, as it's known to the Western Arrernte people, is a lost and beautiful world. The…

  • Palm Valley

    Northern Territory

    Top attraction Palm Valley is famous for its red cabbage palms (up to 12,000 of them!), which exist nowhere else in the world. These relics from…

  • Gunlom

    Kakadu National Park

    Gunlom is a superb escarpment waterfall 40-odd kilometres south of Maguk and 37km along an unsealed, though well-graded, gravel road. The reward is a…

  • Royal Flying Doctor Service

    Darwin

    This outstanding museum on Stokes Hill Wharf is the way all museums should be. There's a 55-seat hologram cinema, virtual-reality glasses that enable you…

  • Rainbow Valley Conservation Reserve

    Northern Territory

    One of the more uplifting sights accessible off the Stuart Hwy south of Alice, Rainbow Valley consists of freestanding sandstone bluffs that turn from…

  • Field of Light

    Yulara

    This extraordinary installation by artist Bruce Munro will be open until at least 31 December 2020. It consists of over 50,000 poppylike stems topped with…

  • Uluru-Kata Tjuta Cultural Centre

    Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park

    Uluru-Kata Tjuta Cultural Centre, just 1km from the Rock, is a fabulous introduction to your Uluru experience. Displays and exhibits focus on tjukurpa …

  • Talinguru Nyakunytjaku Lookout

    Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park

    Much loved for its sunrise views in particular, with Uluru in the foreground and Kata Tjuta far away on the southwestern horizon. It also has two great…

  • Nardab Lookout

    Kakadu National Park

    The magnificent Nardab Lookout is a 250m scramble from the main Ubirr rock-art gallery. Surveying the billiard-table-green floodplain and watching the sun…

  • Mt Sonder Lookout

    Northern Territory

    Just 1km northwest of Glen Helen Gorge, the Mt Sonder lookout has sweeping views out over the West MacDonnells; sunrise and sunset are the best times to…

  • Car Sunset Viewing Area

    Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park

    The main parking area for cars and minivans for watching the sunset at Uluru. Some travellers the far southeastern end of the car park, but everyone's…

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    Kata Tjuta

    Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park

    No journey to Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park is complete without a visit to Kata Tjuta, a striking group of domed rocks huddled together about 35km west…

  • October 6, 2017: High angle view of Bicentennial Park in Darwin.

    Bicentennial Park

    Darwin

    Bicentennial Park runs the length of Darwin's waterfront and Lameroo Beach, which inhabits a sheltered cove popular in the '20s when it housed the…

  • Palm tree at East Point Recreation Reserve.

    East Point Reserve

    Darwin

    North of Fannie Bay, this spit of land is particularly attractive in the late afternoon when wallabies emerge to feed and you can watch the sun set over…

  • TB1B4E Burnett House was designed specifically for tropical conditions and was one of several houses for senior public servants and military personnel.

    Burnett House

    Darwin

    At the far northern end of Smith St is a small but important precinct of four houses built in the 1930s and now on the Register of the National Estate…

  • Darwin Australia - February 22, 2019: Australian Aviation Heritage Centre. The Supermarine Spitfire MK VIII with shark face painted in front.
Darwin Aviation Museum

; Shutterstock ID 1381715885; your: Bridget Brown; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI Image Update

    Darwin Aviation Museum

    Darwin

    If you like aircraft and you like 'em big, you're going to love this place. Darwin's aviation museum, about 10km from the centre, has a mammoth B52 bomber…

  • Standley Chasm

    Northern Territory

    Spectacular Standley Chasm is owned and run by the local Iwupataka community. The narrowest of the West MacDonnell defiles, it's a stunning spot with…

  • Nourlangie Area

    Kakadu National Park

    The sight of this looming outlier of the Arnhem Land escarpment makes it easy to understand its ancient importance to Aboriginal people. Its long, red…

  • Chambers Pillar

    Northern Territory

    The eerie, sandstone Chambers Pillar, southwest of Maryvale Station, towers 50m above the surrounding plain and is carved with the names and visit dates…

  • Uluru

    Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park

    Uluru is a beautiful, charismatic place. Its dimensions are one thing: Uluru is 3.6km long and rises 348m from the surrounding sands (867m above sea level…

  • Mt Connor

    Northern Territory

    Mt Conner, the large mesa (tabletop mountain) that looms 350m out of the desert, is the outback's most photographed red herring − on first sighting many…

  • Emily & Jessie Gaps Nature Park

    Northern Territory

    Both of these gaps in the rock wall of the East MacDonnells are associated with the Eastern Arrernte Caterpillar Dreaming trail. Emily Gap, 16km out of…

  • Wangi Falls

    Litchfield National Park

    Litchfield's big-ticket attraction, Wangi Falls (pronounced wong-guy) flow year-round, spilling either side of a huge orange-rock outcrop and filling an…

  • Ellery Creek Big Hole

    Northern Territory

    Ellery Creek Big Hole, 91km from Alice Springs, has a large permanent waterhole and is a beautiful spot. It's a popular place for a swim on a hot day (the…

  • Litchfield National Park

    Northern Territory

    Welcome to one of Australia's best national parks, a stunning world of striking rock formations and rock pools, high cliffs and waterfalls, croc-free…

  • George Brown Botanic Gardens

    Darwin

    These 42-hectare gardens showcase plants from the Top End and around the world − monsoon vine forest, the mangroves and coastal plants habitat, baobabs,…

  • Ruby Gap Nature Park

    Northern Territory

    This remote park rewards visitors with wild and beautiful scenery. The sandy bed of the Hale River sparkles with thousands of tiny garnets. It's an…

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