Nanguluwurr Art Site — Attraction in Kakadu

Whatever you do, and no matter how many days you stay in Kakadu National Park, get ready to be amazed! It's definitely one of the most beautiful national parks I have visited in my life. It's not only the biggest territorial park in the country, but it's also listed for both cultural and natural values at the UNESCO, for more than valid reasons!

Nourlangie / Nanguluwurr / Burrunguy site is one of the main reasons to visit this park and get this international recognition!

First nations individuals and Australian governments are actively collaborating together in a Board to protect the park in the best way possible, using traditional and modern methods.

The best part for history and culture enthusiasts like me is that we can visit some of the first nations' caves to see fascinating rock art paintings and old ceremony sites. We can not access so much as some sites are still being used, but that's enough to give insights and teach us a lot. For this part, it is definitely better to get a local guide to have the best explanations possible. To be fair, I visited Nourlangie (actually Burrunggui is the right name) with a mixed Caucasian/first nations guide and with a 100% Caucasian guide, and the first one provided way more insight and stories than the second (first hand experience can never be replaced, no matter how many books someone may read). I highly recommend getting a proper local guide if you can choose.

Make sure you visit the whole site! It takes at least one hour with breaks to enjoy the magical view on the park at the lookout and the caves.

Some of the caves painting are accessible super fast from the parking space, so even if you have some difficulty to walk, do go to the first caves, even if you can't access the rest. Don't skip the whole thing (I've seen people in my group skipping everything but 1/3 of the site is easily accessible).

In any case, don't forget to pay the fee before you enter the park and ENJOY this...

We walked at sunset in late October 2022. We were the only ones there and the walk in and out was pretty flat. We had already seen amazing and very old work at Ubirr, Nourlangie and some special permit art sites on west Arnhem Land. This one was a nice to see too, although seems much more recent in last 50-200 years. Beware of feral animals, especially at dawn or dusk. We encountered a herd of feral pigs at sunset near the carpark. A noisy one came running in our direction, we moved off the path and stayed still and thankfully it stopped, sniffed the air and then decided to run off. But there were feral pigs on either side of the path to the car so it was a bit hair raising getting back to the car safely. Maybe an extra risk to be aware of and prepared for if you decide to go at...

went here when I was maybe 10, was walking to the art and told my parents i saw smoke in the distance, they told me I was lying, on the walk back, I look through the trees to see a bushfire burning about 50 meters from where we were standing, parents believe me this time, we run as fast as we can, trees next to us were exploding in fire, flames jumping over the track, we make it back to the car park, a guy is walking up the track. we tell him there is a bushfire and he says "she'll be right". I genuinely don't remember a thing about the art, but this was a certified experience of all time. 9/10 i wish i remembered something...