Katherine Gorge & Edith Falls Day Trip: Intimate Exploration of Nitmiluk National Park from Darwin
4.5
92 Ratings
Darwin City
Embark on an intimate day trip to Katherine Gorge and Edith Falls in Nitmiluk National Park. Explore stunning landscapes, take a boat cruise through the gorge, and learn about the rich history and culture of the Jawoyn people.
Duration: 13 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Darwin - We depart Darwin’s inner-city early, so we can make the most of our time exploring the Nitmiluk National Park and surrounding areas onboard our Katherine Gorge & Edith Falls day trip.
  • Adelaide River - After leaving Darwin in the morning, we travel south along the famous Stuart Highway through Adelaide River and Pine Creek towards Katherine.
  • Nitmiluk National Park - Discover the endemic flora and fauna of this fascinating region of the Northern Territory with your guide’s historical and cultural commentary as we journey through Nitmiluk National Park. The Katherine River and Edith Falls are two of the most famous attractions in this region
  • Nitmiluk (Katherine) Gorge - There is no better way to experience Katherine Gorge (Nitmiluk) than with the NitNit Dreaming boat cruise. On the NitNit Dreaming cruise, you will travel through the middle of cliff faces 70m high as the sun’s natural lighting changes the colours of the landscape and rock formations as you travel through the gorge.
  • Edith Falls - Edith Falls (Leliyn), with its huge natural plunge pool, is a great place to take a refreshing dip or simply relax and enjoy your surroundings. (*swimming is subject to seasonality) Views over the escapement can be seen from several lookout points along the walk
  • Darwin - After enjoying an action-packed day of natural beauty, we slowly make our way back to Darwin arriving sometime between 7:30pm and 8:00pm.
What's Included
  • Air-conditioned mini-coach travel
  • Guided bush walks (1-2km, subject to fitness level)
  • A boat cruise through Katherine Gorge
  • Comprehensive local tour commentary
  • Hosted by an accredited outback driver guide
What's Not Included
  • Meals not included. Guests will have an opportunity to support locals and buy lunch along the way.
  • Hotel transfers pre/post tour itinerary to a nominated pickup point.
Additional Information

When visiting the Top End, be sure not to miss this day trip! Our journey takes us south on the renowned Stuart Highway, passing the communities of Adelaide River and Pine Creek, and heading towards Katherine and Nitmiluk National Park.

Discover the beauty of this area in the Northern Territory. Sit back and listen as your tour guide shares historical facts and cultural insights. The tour includes the unmissable NitNit Dreaming two-hour Katherine Gorge (Nitmiluk) boat cruise. You’ll find yourself travelling amid 70m high cliff faces, the changing hues of the sun illuminating the landscape and rock formations in a constantly shifting display.

Immerse yourself in the lore of the land’s original inhabitants, the Jawoyn people of Katherine, as you explore this impressive site. Afterwards, we travel to the beautiful Edith Falls (Leliyn).*Based on the schedule of the boat cruise, Edith Falls (Leliyn) may be visited either before or after the Katherine Gorge (Nitmiluk) boat cruise. Our trip concludes with a leisurely journey back to Darwin.

  • A minimum moderate level of fitness is required to complete the walks.
  • Child policy 6 years old and over, not suitable for children 5 years old and under.
  • This itinerary may vary to adapt to seasonal changes and occasionally spots in the parks close or do not allow swimming. As safety is our top priority we plan accordingly to ensure our guests have the most fun and best experience possible while on tour.
  • Please ensure you have checked the average temperatures for the time of year you are travelling and have packed adequate clothing.
  • Prior to booking, we strongly recommend guests purchase travel insurance.
Location
Travelodge Resort Darwin
Cavenagh Street
Our main meeting point for this tour will be outside the entrance to the Travelodge Darwin, 64 Cavenagh Street at 6.30am. Please wait out the front gates and not in the hotel foyer, to avoid missing the bus.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.5
(92 Ratings)
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Cassandra_m
Jul 11, 2024
Fantastic day trip - Great day with a fantastic driver who was knowledgeable and had a great sense of humour. Katherine gorge was stunning. Pack your swimmers though as it didn’t say that in the information. You get to swim at Edith Falls. Huge day but worth it. You can pack a lunch and store in esky on bus or buy something along the way. Definitely recommend this trip.
Review provided by Viator
Linda_m
Jul 10, 2024
What a Day !!! - Absolutely fantastic day - be prepared for a long one but oh so worth it. The 2 Gorge cruise was beautiful. Our Driver Guide for the day was great, he went out of his way to ensure we were safe and got the most out of the day. His play list of music on the way home hit the spot!! And he dropped us all close to where we were staying in Darwin knowing we were tired as he was. I highly recommend you add this to your list of adventures anyone that doesn’t give it a good review is just hard to please Linda McIntyre
Review provided by Viator
Stubbshil
Jun 28, 2024
Katherine Gorge tour - Both Katherine Gorge and Edith Falls were beautiful, lots of opportunities to take photos of wildlife and scenery. The tour guide was great, entertaining and informative. Long day but worth it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Colin_m
Jun 22, 2024
A great day out. - The gorge itself was spectacular. The driver, Rick, was excellent. His stories about the gorge, Edith Falls and the Territory were great. Very capable driver and guide. Can't rate him high enough. A great day overall. Only complaint was the huge step down from the body of the bus to the ground when getting down. Could have done with an extra step down to make it easier. It made for a very long day but it was worth it.
Review provided by Viator
Christina_c
Jul 27, 2024
Katherine Gorge. Spectacular and breathtakingg. - Loved all of the trip especially Katherine Gorge. The driver Ethan was very informative and interacted well with everyone. Lots of information in the visitor centre.
Review provided by Viator
Gary_a
Jul 5, 2024
Jason was a good driver and knowlegable guide. - Viator are a quality company with professional staff. Katherine gorge and Edith falls are beautiful parts of the world and well worth a visit.
Review provided by Viator
Julie
Jun 29, 2024
Katherine Gorge tour - The tour was well organised and we enjoyed the day. It was a very long day indeed, returning after 9pm. We had some issues on the day with microphone headset faulty and a delay due to other passengers misjudging their fitness level on walk. More emphasis on required fitness levels to passengers might be worthwhile. We were late to the cruise through no fault of the driver who went above and beyond to have the cruise departure delayed until we arrived. The dip at Edith Falls was lovely and the Gorge cruise was excellent - informative and scenic. Although there were opportunities to stop and purchase food, we would have appreciated some snacks to be offered by the company/driver at the stops with the cost of the tour and length of the day.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tombm4439mo
Jul 31, 2024
The boat cruise was awesome but everything else was extremely rushed - Whilst our tour guide Naomi was very knowledgeable and informative, and the boat cruise along the river was spectacular, the rest of the trip was very rushed. There was nowhere to buy food at the national park (other than chips or ice cream), so we stopped along the way at a petrol station at 8am and was told we had 10 minutes to go to the bathroom and buy our lunch there (pre made sandwhiches) before getting back on the bus. Once we completed our boat cruise at Katherine Gorge we were told we had 15 minutes to eat lunch before being rushed off to Edith Falls. No time to relax while eating lunch and take in the serenity or to see the visitor centre, explore any of the bush walks or take photos from vantage points above the gorge as described in the tour description and shown in photos. When we got to Edith falls we only had 1 hour which included getting changed into and out of swimming gear and exploring the gift shop before needing to get back on the bus. Again, tour description said we would be there for 3 hours but this was certainly not the case. No time to explore the upper pools or walking trails at Edith falls as shown and described. To summarise it was 9 hours of driving in a small bus with no wifi for a 2 hour boat cruise and a 15 minute swim at Edith falls. I don’t feel like we got to spend enough time at each place or do everything that was described. We physically couldn’t have done it any quicker to allow for the guided walks or anything. The swimming spots at Litchfield are much better (and 3 hours each way closer to Darwin) than Edith Falls and looking back it would have been better to spend the full day at Katherine Gorge exploring the bush trails and swimming instead of being rushed off. Although we did experience some delays due to roadworks, it would’ve only accumulated to 15 minutes max and still wouldn’t have allowed for more time if there were no delays. The time limits described at each place includes the travel time, not actual time at each location. I’m glad I experienced it but for costing over $300, next time I think I will do it myself at my own pace so I can experience everything.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Philfe3028bd
Jul 16, 2024
Not at all happy - 7/07/2024 Today's tour Darwin to Katherine Not at all happy - advertised start time of 6:30am at Travelodge but I got message at 6:19am while eating breakfast that they were waiting for us out the front so wasn't able to finish my meal. Now I am a diabetic who needs to eat and complete meals as well as taking medication. Driver says they are trying to adjust their times. When we get to Katherine Gorge we were at least 30 minutes early to sit and stand around which isn't good for my osteo arthritis back !! Then for lunch got there at 1:20pm, driver says we have 30 minutes but once again we get hussled out earlier. Bloody whistle on this mini-bus, drives me nuts Autopia tours driver Jason
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Daryl_w
Jul 6, 2024
Terrible, disappointing - Absolute joke! Very disappointing, for a start we missed the gorge cruise due to poor organisation and arriving late. Waste of time! Would not recommend Autopia tours to anyone.
Review provided by Viator
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