Bowali Visitor Centre — Attraction in Kakadu

I've decided to edit my review to 2 stars from 3 stars after I learnt about and missed the ranger guided walk of Ubirr and the rock art. Go to parksaustralia.gov.au for days to book the free tours. No one mentioned the ranger guided walks or that booking was available online when we visited Bowali on 12/9/24. The centre provided other useful (we thought at the time) but basic information about areas to visit in the national park in way of maps. you can buy your park passes here. There are 2 attendants at the desk at any one time and are friendly and efficient but don't expect them to book anything for you or to provide any in depth information about tours or sights. You will be directed to fact-find and book online but you'll miss out on things like ranger led tours unless you know to specifically ask about them. The centre itself is large, open (therefore no AC) and attractive but there is no cafe or shop of any kind. There is a cold water dispenser but don't expect to be able to buy anything here, no snacks, food, coffee or bottled anything, no vending machines etc. There are large bench like tables/benches so you can eat your own food/drink if you like. Toilet facilities are modern and clean.There is a small rather neglected museum/interpretative area. The...

This place has a lot of potential but looks like they ran put of money to complete it. Asked the lady some questions and she just replied 'everything you need to know is in the booklet I've given you. I've highlighted everything you can do in the park'. Felt like info centre was a waste of time, just leave booklets out for tourists to collect then. She told us Maguk was a short walk and Jim Jim was a hard walk over boulders. When they both were hard walks and about the same distance. Jim Jim was harder but there was nothing easy about walk to Maguk Falls. Both are terrible unsealed roads in and Jim Jim has creek/water crossings too. If you don't have a 4WD and you want to swim then kakadu is not the place for you. Paid online for $100 family park pass. Both toilets at the falls had busted locks and not maintained. What are we paying for? Was told Gunlom falls closed 4 years ago but on exiting the park we passed 2 signs. One showing Gunlom was approaching with a picture underneath showing the facilities available there such as camping and toilets etc.... but it hadn't been crossed out and the turn off to Gunlom didn't say closed either. You have one job people. All seems so disorganised and like the wild wild west. Litchfield is so...

The Bowali Visitors Centre is your gateway to the Kakadu National Park. It's on the Kakadu Hwy, just a couple of kilometres south of the Arnhem and Kakadu Highway intersection. The turnoff is well signposted so you can't miss it. The centre is open between 8am and 5pm and almost every day in the year.

The building itself is shaped like a long Aboriginal rock shelter, with rammed earth walls, ironwood floors and natural stone, with its own billabong and creek bed. It has a well-laid out walk through gallery, which presents two views of Kakadu, the Gukburleri (Aboriginal) and Guhbele (non-Aboriginal). Provides you with a better understanding of the rich cultural history of this world heritage listed region. The centre no longer has a cafe, but it has toilets, charging stations and free drinkable water.

The staff at the centre are really knowledgeable and willing to take the time to help you plan how to get the most out of your visit to the National Park, particularly which parts of the park are open/accessible and which areas aren't. You can also purchase your park ticket here if you haven't already done so online.

This a great starting point/introduction to Kakadu and...