Watarrka National Park

Watarrka National Park is a protected desert park in southwest Northern Territory, about 320 km southwest of Alice Springs. Established in 1989, it covers 1,051 sq km of sandstone ranges, gorges and desert woodland. It is best known for Kings Canyon, with sheer 100-metre cliffs, the permanent waterhole Garden of Eden, and significant Aboriginal cultural sites, and forms a major stop on the Red Centre Way.

Visitors can expect a rugged desert landscape dominated by the sandstone cliffs and gorges of Kings Canyon. The park offers marked walking tracks including the Kings Canyon Rim Walk with cliff-top lookouts, the Kings Canyon Creek walk on the canyon floor, and the Kathleen Springs walk to a spring-fed waterhole. Surroundings include spinifex desert, cycads and rock formations, with interpretive signs, picnic areas and lookouts. The environment is arid and exposed with limited shade.