Discover 20,000 year ancient Aboriginal Rock Art in Kakadu National Park on a 4wd tour from Darwin in Northern Territory, Australia
Top End of Australia - A top 5 Australian tourist destination | A must see when holiday in Australia | Kakadu National Park | Litchfield National Park | Nitmiluk National Park | Arnhem Land | Litchfield and Kakadu Tours | Tailor Made personalised tours |

Ubirr or Nourlangie rock art in Kakadu National Park Australia which is better to see and explore on a tour

Ubirr or Nourlangie rock art in Kakadu National Park Australia which is better to see and explore on a tour or safari

Ubirr Rock in Kakadu National Park Australia

Ubirr rock art in Kakadu National Park Australia
It’s one of Kakadu’s most famous spots. The walk passes several breathtaking Aboriginal art sites and leads up to a stunning lookout over the Nadab floodplain.

Much of the art here features fish, turtles, goanna and other important food animals. At the main gallery, a painting of a thylacine (the Tasmanian tiger, which became extinct on the mainland more than two thousand years ago) is a rare treat, and gives an idea of the age of some of this art. Ubirr’s rock art is considered among the best in the world, with fine examples of x-ray painting as well as contact art from the time when Indigenous people first encountered Europeans. Stories about behaviour and law are told at the Mabuyu, Narmarrkan Sisters and Rainbow Serpent paintings. Marvel at the intricate layers of paintings and come away filled with wonder.

Sunset is a great time to visit. Gaze out over the floodplains, woodlands and dark ribbons of rainforest, and let the spirit and serenity of Kakadu envelop you. During kudjewg (monsoon season), dramatic storms roll in and lightning shows illuminate the skyline. As the sun sets, the birds begin their evening song, the Wilkins rock wallaby darts about in the shadows of the escarpment getting ready for the night and the blue-winged kookaburras call out to tell everyone they are home for the evening. Locals refer to this as ‘the call of Kakadu’. Ranger guided walks Wheelchair access: The area around the main art site is flat and accessible to wheelchairs. Please note – for cultural reasons, alcohol is not permitted at Ubirr. Credits and Thanks to Parksaustralia

Detailed map of Ubirr rock art gallery walks in Kakadu Australia (Credit Parks Australia)

See our map of how to get to Ubirr Rock in Kakadu National Park Australia below

Campgrounds Kakadu - stay and camp at Merl Campground near Ubirr.

Burrungkuy (Nourlangie) rock art in Kakadu National Park Australia

Burrungkuy (Nourlangie) Rock in Kakadu National Park Australia

Burrungkuy (Nourlangie) Rock in Kakadu National Park Australia

See how local Aboriginal people lived in this area through changing times. Environmental and social changes are reflected in the rock art and in the ground, where archaeologists have discovered evidence of many thousands of years of occupation. This is a collection of three main sites that include Burrungkuy (Nourlangie), Kuwarddewardde Lookout and Anbangbang Shelter. At the main rock art site, Anbangbang Gallery, learn about creation ancestors including Namarrgon, the Lightning Man. Aboriginal people lived here in the wet seasons, harvesting a variety of plants, such as waterlilies, and as many as 70 types of animals including goanna, fish, freshwater mussels and birds. In the large flat rocks on the shelter floor are grinding holes used for preparing food and probably ochres for painting. The path to the main gallery is flat and accessible to disabled people. Flights of steps lead to the other art and occupation sites.

Here you’ll find some of the world’s oldest and most impressive rock art, and spectacular views of the Arnhem Land escarpment. Nourlangie (Burrungkuy) is one reason why Kakadu is World Heritage-listed for outstanding cultural values. This famous site, with its stunning rock paintings, documents life in the region from 20,000 years ago to the first contact with European explorers. This 1.5 km walk invites you to take a visual journey through time to an outdoor cultural museum where paintings, shelters and artefacts present traditional ways of life from numerous epochs.

Rock art and lookout: Along this walk you’ll find the renowned Anbangbang Gallery and Shelter along with the Gunwarddehwardde Lookout. The lookout surveys the impressive Arnhem Land escarpment with its sandstone cliffs and expansive savanna woodlands. For the traditional custodians of this area art (gunbim) is an expression of cultural identity and connection to country. The act of painting is generally more important than the painting itself so many older paintings are covered by more recent works. The main rock art site along this walk is the Anbangbang Gallery and Shelter. Here, and nearby, you’ll find a concentration of numerous artistic styles spanning various time periods that capture an array of subjects. See representations of creation beings, such as Namarrgon (lightning man), intriguing depictions of European sailing ships from first contact with white people and x-ray art of animals and fish. During the dry season ranger-guided tours of Nourlangie explain the geology and archaeology of the area, the way Indigenous people used Anbangbang Shelter and provide insights into the ancient cultural roots and their connection with the land.

Wildlife: There’s many endemic species on this walk and you may encounter the chestnut-quilled rock pigeon or the black wallaroo (barrk). On your way up to Gunwarddehwardde Lookout take a moment to listen to the helmeted friar birds or try to spot the elusive spangled drongos while emerald doves and banded fruit-doves dart about the tree canopy.

Tip: The walk to the main gallery is open all year round and is wheelchair accessible.

See our map of how to get to Burrungkuy (Nourlangie) Rock in Kakadu National Park Australia below

Nanguluwurr Art Site Walk in Kakadu National Park Australia

You’ll be transported back in time at the Nanguluwurr Gallery – a small rock art site on the northern side of Burrungkuy (Nourlangie), tucked away at the end of a 1.7 km walk. Here you can see powerful depictions of ancestral spirits, animals, and the fascinating early depiction of contact between Aboriginal people and Europeans in the form of a two-masted sailing ship with anchor chain. For thousands of years this was a major camping site for Aboriginal people, as it lies on the main walking route from the escarpment country to the South Alligator floodplain. The paintings cover many different styles and subjects, ranging from hand stencils many thousands of years old, to animals in x-ray style, some painted as recently as the 1960s.

Nanguluwurr Art Site Walk is a peaceful walk through woodlands, leading to a cool, quiet Aboriginal rock art site.

Wildlife Many flowers of the woodlands can be seen on the walk to the gallery. In the dry season look for the pretty pink star-shaped flowers of the turkey bush - and during the wet season you may see red bush apples ripening and the Kakadu plum flowers beginning to fruit. The quiet walk through the woodlands is brought to life with the sounds of grey-crowned babblers, butcher birds, finches and friar birds.

Culture Nanguluwurr was a major camping site for Aboriginal people. Here you’ll find paintings covering many different styles, including hand stencils, food sources like fish and turtle, a fantastic example of ‘contact art’, a painting of a two-masted sailing ship (lugger). Sit and ponder why there is a painting of a sailing ship some 90 kms inland and nowhere near a waterway! Then learn about female spirit Algaihgo and why you should heed the messages from the dream time.

Type of walk: Return track
Walk grade: Easy to moderate
Walk distance: 3.4 km
Time required: 2 hours

Noulangie rock and Nanguluwurr Art Site near Nourlangie in Kakadu National Park Australia (Credits Parks Australia)

One day tours to Ubirr in Kakadu National Park from Darwin

One day Kakadu and Mary River AATKings Tour (Kakadu’s premier art site, Ubirr, cruise on a wetland system that houses the world’s highest concentration of crocodiles and is 10 times the size of the famous Yellow Waters system.)

3 day Kakadu tours
4 day Kakadu and Top End tours
5 day Kakadu and Top End tours

One day tours to Kakadu National Park from Darwin

One day Kakadu and Mary River AATKings Tour (Kakadu’s premier art site, Ubirr, cruise on a wetland system that houses the world’s highest concentration of crocodiles and is 10 times the size of the famous Yellow Waters system.)

One day tours to Jim Jim Falls and Jim Jim Gorge in Kakadu National Park from Darwin

1 Day 4wd Gecko Dreaming Twin Falls and Jim Jim Falls Safari (ex. Jabiru township in Kakadu) (There is no one day tours from Darwin to Jim Jim Falls)

Wet Season - Kakadu and Litchfield 4wd Camping Tours and Short Break Tours including Moline and Motor Car Falls from Darwin

Kakadu and Litchfield 4wd Camping Tours and Short Break Tours including Gunlom waterfall and Gunlom rock pool from Darwin

Kakadu and Litchfield adventure tours

3 day Kakadu tours
4 day Kakadu and Top End tours
5 day Kakadu and Top End tours

4 day Kakadu and Arnhem Land tours
5 day Kakadu and Arnhem Land tours

Start a tour from: Darwin

Australia adventure camping tours to Kakadu
Australia accommodated tours to Kakadu
Adventure tours one way across Australia