Waterfalls in Northern Territory

Planning a waterfall trip in Northern Territory

Litchfield National Park is about an hour and a half from Darwin, and most of its falls sit at the end of sealed roads. Florence Falls and Wangi Falls both drop into large plunge pools, Buley Rockhole is a chain of shallow pools, and Tolmer Falls is a viewing-only fall with a lookout over the gorge.

Kakadu National Park is a bigger trip. Jim Jim Falls drops around 200 metres from the escarpment, and nearby Twin Falls is reached by a short boat shuttle. Both are at the end of a long 4WD track that is usually open only in the dry season. Gunlom and Maguk have plunge pools that are easier to get to. In Nitmiluk National Park, near Katherine, Leliyn (Edith Falls) has a large swimming hole beside the campground.

The wet season runs from about November to April. The falls are at their most powerful then, but many roads and tracks close, and Jim Jim and Twin Falls are often only visible from a scenic flight. The dry season, from May to October, opens the roads, but some falls shrink to a thin stream by the end of it. Early in the dry, around May and June, is usually the best balance.

Saltwater crocodiles live throughout the Top End. Rangers survey the plunge pools at the start of each dry season and open them for swimming when they are judged safe, so only swim where signs say it is allowed. Each waterfall page says whether swimming is permitted.

You need a park pass to enter Kakadu, bought online or at a visitor centre. Check the NT Parks website for current pass rules in Litchfield, Nitmiluk and the other territory parks before you go.

We don’t yet have a live park-alerts feed for the Northern Territory, so the access badge reads Check park alerts. Closures change week to week around the start and end of the wet, so check the NT Parks and Kakadu sites the day before.