Kakadu weather by month
Warm all yearMay to September is the dry; December to March is the green season.
Warm every month, and the rain decides the season. At Jabiru, inside the park, days average 32°C in June and July and peak at 38°C in October. May to September is the dry: 1mm of rain in June and 2 to 3mm in July and August, with every 4WD track open to Jim Jim and Twin Falls. December to March is the green season, with 356mm in January, the falls at their most spectacular and the billabongs at their fullest. Ubirr and the wetland cruises are there in both. A day from Darwin is from $249, three days with two nights in the park from $729.
Checked on 28 October 2026.
Kakadu never gets cold. Days sit between 32 and 38°C all year, and nights stay above 18°C. What changes is the rain, and the rain decides which parts of the park you reach and how they look. Both halves of the year are good. They are different trips.
Kakadu month by month
| Month | Day | Night | Rain | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34°C | 25°C | 356mm | The wettest. The green season at its peak, the billabongs full |
| February | 33°C | 25°C | 352mm | The falls are enormous. A flight shows them best |
| March | 34°C | 25°C | 302mm | Still green, starting to ease |
| April | 35°C | 24°C | 86mm | Drying out, with the country still green |
| May | 34°C | 22°C | 16mm | The dry begins. Rain down to 16mm |
| June | 32°C | 20°C | 1mm | The driest and among the coolest. Everything open |
| July | 32°C | 19°C | 3mm | The coolest nights, 19°C. Ideal for camping in the park |
| August | 34°C | 19°C | 2mm | Dry and clear. Every track open to the falls |
| September | 36°C | 22°C | 13mm | Still the dry. Warming up, every track open |
| October | 38°C | 24°C | 40mm | The hottest month. Ubirr sunsets and the cruises |
| November | 37°C | 25°C | 136mm | The rain returns and the country turns green |
| December | 35°C | 25°C | 231mm | The green season begins. Storms most afternoons |
Bureau of Meteorology long-term monthly averages for Jabiru Airport (station 014198), inside Kakadu National Park, from 49 years of records.
What each season is for
The dry. May to September
- Almost no rain: 1mm in June, 2 to 3mm in July and August.
- Every 4WD track is opendown to Jim Jim and Twin Falls, and out to Maguk.
- The most comfortable days of the year: 32°C in June and July, with nights down to 19 to 20°C, the best camping weather the park has.
- Koolpin Gorge (Jarrangbarnmi), a permit area limited to 40 visitors a day, given by the traditional owners, on the 5 day safari.
The green season. December to March
- The falls at their most spectacular231 to 356mm of rain a month. The roads to Jim Jim and Twin Falls close, and a flight over the park is the way to see them in flood.
- The wetland cruises at their best.Yellow Water and Corroboree Billabong are at their fullest, with the most birdlife of the year.
- Ubirr and Nourlangie stay openon sealed roads, and the rock art is the real highlight of Kakadu whatever the season.
- The park nearly to yourself.
In between. April, October and November
- April has the green country of the wet with the rain easing to 86mm.
- October is the hottest month at 38°C and still mostly dry at 40mm, so the Ubirr sunset and the billabong cruises are at their easiest to fit in.
- November brings the first real rain, 136mm, and the country starts turning green again.
So when would we go?
- June to Augustfor the coolest days, the driest weather and every track open to the falls.
- Septemberfor the dry at its warmest, with every track still open.
- December to Marchfor the green season, the biggest falls from the air, the fullest billabongs and an empty park.
- Any monthfor Ubirr's rock art and a billabong cruise among the crocodiles.
The trips
| Trip | Length | What it is built around | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Day Kakadu Tour | 1 day | A guided walk at Ubirr's World Heritage galleries, around 615km on the road from Darwin | $249 |
| 2 Day Kakadu Tour | 2 days, 1 night | Ubirr's rock art and the Corroboree Billabong cruise, a night beside Mardugal Billabong | $815 |
| 3 Day Kakadu Tour | 3 days, 2 nights | Two nights inside the park, the Corroboree Billabong cruise and a croc, buffalo and kangaroo barbecue | $729 |
| 2 Day Kakadu Retreat | 2 days, 1 night | A flight over Kakadu, the Adelaide River at sunrise, a resort night in Jabiru | $1899 |
| 4 Day Kakadu & Katherine Retreat | 4 days, 3 nights | The 4WD tracks to Jim Jim or Twin Falls and Maguk, in hotels | $1999 |
| 5 Day Kakadu & Koolpin Gorge Safari | 5 days, 4 nights | Koolpin Gorge, a permit area for 40 visitors a day | $1799 |
Every trip starts and finishes in Darwin. Prices update on their own.
There is more on the green season on our Kakadu in the wet page, and on what to see once you are there on the best things to do in Kakadu.
1 Day Kakadu Tourfrom $2491 day1 day from Darwin, Ubirr's rock artView trip
3 Day Kakadu Tourfrom $7293 days, 2 nightsSafari tent or swag3 days, two nights inside the parkView trip
4 Day Kakadu & Katherine Retreatfrom $19994 days, 3 nightsHotel Resort4 days, the falls tracks, in hotelsView trip
2 Day Kakadu Retreatfrom $18992 days, 1 nightResort Accommodation2 days, a flight over the parkView tripPeople also ask
- Is Kakadu worth going to in the wet season?
- What are the best things to do in Kakadu?
- Which Kakadu tour should I do from Darwin?
- What is the Northern Territory like in December?
Where this comes from. Temperatures and rainfall are Bureau of Meteorology long-term monthly averages for Jabiru Airport, station 014198, from 49 years of records. Road and swimming closures follow Parks Australia's published advice for Kakadu National Park. What each trip visits, where it sleeps, distances and prices are that trip's own details as held on its page here, and prices update on their own.