Litchfield National Park

Named after Frederick Henry Litchfield who was an early pioneer and explorer in the Northern Territory, Litchfield National Park is one of the most popular day trips from Darwin. It features waterfalls and springs along the Table Top Range escarpment, with tropical monsoon forests, giant termite mounds and natural swimming holes.

Litchfield National Park is easily explored with your own vehicle, with most attractions linked by a sealed road that is accessible by two-wheel drive cars. Florence Falls is a double-plunge waterhole with an idyllic swimming hole at the base, while Buley Rockhole includes a long series of cascading plunge pools. Wangi Falls is one of Litchfield’s most popular destinations, with swimming available here depending on water levels, while Tolmer Falls plunges dramatically over two high escarpments.

The Lost City is a formation of large sandstone columns near Tolmer Falls, while the ruins of the Blythe Homestead are heritage-listed as an example of early bush outstation architecture. You can also visit the Bamboo Creek tin mine, which is a legacy of 19th-century mines in the Northern Territory, with the old tin processing mill and artifacts relating to ore extraction and processing on display.

Kangaroos, wallabies, brushtail possums and sugar gliders inhabit the park, together with rare orange leaf-nosed bats and ghost bats in the caves near Tolmer Falls. Litchfield is also a popular birdwatching destination, with species including black kites, rainbow bee-eaters and Pacific koels. Monitor lizards and frill-necked lizards can also be seen in the park, together with large saltwater crocodiles along the Finniss River area.