Northern Territory Attractions

Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage listed site located in the Northern Territory of Australia. The park covers 2010 square kilometres and encompasses - Uluru / Ayers Rock and, 40 kilometres to its W, Kata Tjuta / Mount Olga and is serviced by flights from most Australian capital cities. Uluru is one of Australia’s most recognisable icons and has become a focal point for Australia and the world's acknowledgement of Australian Indigenous culture. The sandstone monolith stands at 348 metres in height with most of its bulk below the ground. Kata Tjuta, meaning ‘many heads’, is a very sacred place relating to knowledge that is considered to be very powerful and considered dangerous, only suitable for initiated men. It is made up of a group of 36 conglomerate rock domes that dates back 500 million years.

Ayers Rock is one of Australia's most visited sights with more than ½ million people visiting it each year but Apart from sticking out like a sore thumb, Uluru, as it called by its reinstated Aboriginal owners, is most famous for its ever changing colours particularly at sunrise and sunset.

Located 171km SE of Darwin and extending nearly 200 km from N to S (and over 100 km from E to W), the Kakadu National Park is one of the few UNESCO World Heritage Sites to be listed for both natural and cultural reasons. It is widely believed that the park has been continuously inhabited for up to 40,000 years, and rock paintings and other archaeological sites testify to the Aboriginal history of the region. Kakadu still hosts around 300 Aboriginals together with a wide range of plants and animals. The river floodplains, savannah woodlands, rich tidal wetlands and sandstone escarpments are all features of this incredible national park.

Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserve is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia. The reserve is located 145 kilometres south west of Alice Springs and contains twelve craters, which were formed when a fragmented meteorite hit the earth’s surface. Henbury is one of five meteorite impact sites in Australia associated with actual meteorite fragments and one of the world's best preserved examples of a small crater field. At Henbury there are 13 to 14 craters ranging from 7 to 180 metres in diameter and up to 15 metres in depth that were formed when the meteor broke up before impact. Several tonnes of iron-nickel fragments have been recovered from the site. The site has been dated to 4.2±1.9 thousand years ago based on the cosmogenic 14C terrestrial age of the meteorite. The craters are named for Henbury Station, a nearby cattle station named in 1875...

Situated at the Alice Springs Cultural Precinct, the Museum of Central Australia hosts an extensive display relating to Central Australia's natural wonders, unique fossils of extinct mega-fauna, minerals, meteorites and desert life forms. The various exhibitions explore the unique features of the region through time and space, following the evolution of the landscape and the creatures that inhabited it. Featured is a replica of a local paleontological dig, an ancient waterhole with some surprising mega fauna including a giant freshwater crocodile and the largest bird that ever lived, Dromornis stirtoni, dated at eight million years old. Other exhibits include present day Central Australian mammals, reptiles, insects and meteorite fragments. Entry fees apply.

The Araluen Centre for Arts & Entertainment in Alice Springs, in the Northern Territory, Australia, is a cultural centre incorporating museums and a theatre. There are four art galleries. The arts museum has a large collection of paintings from a large range of artists, including Albert Namatjira. There is a crafts centre, complete with ceramics, stained glass, painting and fabric-working workshops on site. Travelling art displays are a frequent attraction and celebrations, such as the annual Beanie Festival, are also held there. International and independent movies are shown in the theater, which seats about five hundred. The theatre also hosts live performances of drama, dance and music. The front window to the arts portion of the centre is a massive, locally-made, stained glass work of art. The natural history portion of the center, located on site in another building w...

Fannie Bay Gaol is a historic gaol in Darwin, Australia. The gaol operated as Her Majesty's Gaol and Labour Prison, from 20 September 1883 until 1 September 1979. The last executions in Darwin were held at Fannie Bay Gaol in 1952, when Jerry Coci and Jonus Nopoty, Romanian immigrants, were hanged for the murder of a taxi driver. The gallows were constructed especially for this execution, in the infirmary. A pit was dug into the floor at one end of the building, with brick walls either side to support the beam. A small trapdoor and flight of steps led down into the pit for the doctor to examine the bodies after the drop. The prisoners were held in wire cages at the other end of the infirmary prior to execution. The gallows remain on public view, and visitors can push the lever that operated the trap. Male and female prisoners were held in separate buildings. The female prison blo...

Bicentennial Park is a large area of parkland located in the Darwin city centre, Darwin, Northern Territory. It runs the length of Darwin's waterfront which looks over Darwin Harbour. The park stretches from Northern Territory Parliament House to Doctor’s Gully. Major festivals that are held at Bicentennial Park include Greek Glenti where the Greek community gathers to celebrate their culture and food. Other major festivals are May Day and the Darwin Festival.

The George Brown Darwin Botanic Gardens are botanical gardens located 2km North of the CBD of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. The gardens cover 42 hectares and are noted for their collections of north Australian and other tropical species. The gardens contain a major collection of Northern Australian monsoon flora; these include communities like mangroves, monsoon vine thicket, Tiwi Islands wet forest and those found on the Arnhem Land escarpment. The gardens also has a large collection of native and introduced tropical plants including cycads, palms, Adansonia, gingers and heliconias.

Charles Darwin National Park is in the Northern Territory of Australia, 4 km southeast of Darwin. It is notable for its World War II–era concrete bunkers, one of which has been converted into a visitors centre and display of World War II memorabilia. It also has lookouts towards the city of Darwin. It contains middens used by the Larrakia people. The park has extensive fire trails suitable for bush walking, as well as a mountain bike trail maintained by the Darwin Off-Road Cyclists Club. Regular events held in the park include the Earthdance festival.

The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory is the main museum in the Northern Territory. The museum is located in the inner Darwin suburb of Fannie Bay. The museum falls under the responsibility of the Northern Territory Government department of Natural Resources, Environment, The Arts and Sport. The building was opened on September 10, 1981 by the Governor General of Australia and was known as the Northern Territory Museum of Arts and Sciences. The museum featured the history, science and visual art of the region and its people. an extension was built and completed in 1992 to display the Northern Territory's maritime history. In 1993 the name of the museum was changed to the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory. The Territory's art collection consists of over 30,000 items of art and material culture. Famous exhibits include the body of Sweetheart, a crocod...

Parliament House in Darwin is Australia's newest Parliament Building, it has been the seat of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly since 1994. Parliament House is located on State Square in the centre of Darwin, which is also the administrative centre of the Northern Territory law and government. It features Post modern features. Construction of Parliament House began in 1990, and the building was completed in 1994, and officially opened by the Governor-General of Australia, Bill Hayden on 18 August 1994. Before Parliament House the former Northern Territory Legislative Council established in 1948 was housed in various temporary buildings around Darwin. After 1974 the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly continued to occupy these buildings and the Government office blocks until 1990 when they were demolished to allow commencement of the construction of Parliament House. F...

Only 5 min drive from the airport, the park is home to more than a thousand crocodiles. It also houses exotic birds, primates, big cats and lizards. Children under 4 years have free entry.

The Territory Wildlife Park is a zoo at Berry Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia, some 60 kilometres (37 mi) (about a 45 minutes drive) south of Darwin. It opened in 1989. Situated on 400 ha of natural bushland, it contains native animals and plants representative of Northern Territory, and especially Top End tropical monsoonal, environments. It contributes to their conservation through research programs as well as through public education. The three main habitats represented are woodland, wetland and monsoon vine forest. The Territory Wildlife Park is a member of the Zoo and Aquarium Association (ZAA).

Ayers Rock is one of Australia's most visited sights with more than ½ million people visiting it each year but Apart from sticking out like a sore thumb, Uluru, as it called by its reinstated Aboriginal owners, is most famous for its ever changing colours particularly at sunrise and sunset.