Murujuga National Park

Murujuga National Park is a national park in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It's home to more than one million images on rock, making it the largest collection of Aboriginal rock art in Australia as well as the world's densest – some of them dating back 47,000 years. The park was established in 2013, and is WA's 100th national park.

Unfortunately, due to its sheer remoteness, the park's significance is not often recognised as such but in 2020, it was added to tentative list for world heritage along with some areas of the Burrup Peninsula surrounding the park under criterion i and iii.

Understand

History

The peninsula is an ecologically and archaeologically remarkable area because it contains the world's largest collection of petroglyphs, Aboriginal stone carvings that some scholars say date back well before the last ice age – some of the rock artworks date back to more than 47,000 years ago.

The collection is the largest in Australia and the densest in the world with artistic petroglyphs estimated at over a million, several of them containing the thylacine which is now extinct.

Unfortunately, the collection has been significantly threatened by various big mining companies such as Woodside Petroleum, due to the large mining activity near the park and the mining town of Karratha and it is believed that 7.2 to 24.4% of rock art has been destroyed or damaged and the park remains a controversial one when it comes to industrial development.

Climate

The general climate is that of the Pilbara – very hot all year around, but as the park is coastal, it does not usually get cold.

Official websites

• Parks and Wildlife Services WA
• Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation

Get in

The park is 200 kilometres west of Port Hedland and 15 kilometres north of Karratha and is accessible from here via Dampier Road and Burrup Peninsula Road.

Fees and permits

The park is free to enter, and no permits are required.

See and do

• 1 Ngajarli (Deep Gorge). A 700-metre trail mostly comprised of boardwalk which is the main highlight of this park. The trail passes through many of the park's rock engravings and artifacts with numerous interpretive signs along the way. (updated Jan 2022)

Tours

• Murujuga Rock Art & Cultural Experience, ☏ +61 8 9186 8055, visitkarratha@karratha.wa.gov.au. Whilst the rocks may be a spectacular sight, learn more about the cultural significance of the park from an Indigenous tour guide. The tours take approximately 1.5 hours. (updated Mar 2022)
• Ngurrangga Tours, ☏ +61 8 6373 1440, bookings@ngurrangga.com.au. Includes several tours, such as a rock art tour, bush tucker tours, 4WD tours, or a mix of them. (updated Mar 2022)

Buy, eat and drink

There are no shops, cafes, kiosks, bars, restaurants etc. in the park.

Sleep

There are no lodging options in the park and camping of any sort is strictly prohibited.

Respect

• Don't climb on the rocks and stick to the boardwalk – climbing it is a finable offense.
• Something less obvious, it is considered disrespectful to take photographs of rocks depicting humans on it

Go next

• Head to south to Karratha