Litchfield National Park in one day — an itinerary
One day fitsFour swimming stops and the termite mounds, in that order.
One day covers Litchfield properly, which is more than you can say for Kakadu. The park is a loop of four swimming stops strung along one road, plus the termite mounds on the way in — about a 450km round trip from Darwin, from $179 with accommodation transfers included. The order matters: do the termite mounds first because they are on the way in, then Florence Falls, Buley Rockhole, and finish at Wangi Falls, which is the biggest and the one you will want longest at.
Checked on 6 October 2026.
Litchfield is compact, close to Darwin and built around water. That combination is why it fits a day and Kakadu does not.
The day, in order
| When | Where | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Early | Leave Darwin | Pick-up from your accommodation. A stop at Batchelor to pick up lunch, because there is nowhere to buy it in the park. |
| Mid-morning | Magnetic termite mounds | Metres tall, aligned north to south so they catch the least sun. A boardwalk, ten minutes. |
| Late morning | Florence Falls | A double waterfall into a deep pool, down a staircase through monsoon forest. The first swim. |
| Midday | Buley Rockhole | A chain of small pools you sit in, one after another. Right next to Florence. |
| Afternoon | Wangi Falls | The big one. A wide plunge pool beneath twin cascades, and the easiest to get into. Leave time here. |
| Evening | Back to Darwin | About two hours. |
Effort is rated 3 out of 5 — staircases down to the pools rather than any long walking. Small group, up to 20.
What to bring
- Swimmers and a towel.This is the whole point of Litchfield and people genuinely forget.
- Lunchbought at the Batchelor stop. There is nothing in the park.
- More water than you think.The Top End is hot in every month.
- Insect repellentfor the monsoon forest sections.
- Shoes you can walk a staircase inwet.
The one thing that can change the day
Swimming holes close, and it is not about comfort. In and after the wet season, high water moves saltwater crocodiles into places they are not in the dry, and the park shuts the pools until rangers have checked and cleared them. In the dry, roughly May to October, they are reliably open. In the wet the falls are at their most spectacular and you may be looking rather than swimming.
The trip
| Trip | What you get | Effort | Group | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Day Litchfield Tour | — | — | Small group, up to 20 | $179 |
Litchfield or Kakadu, if you only have one day
Litchfield, unless rock art is why you came. It is half the distance, you can swim, and a day genuinely covers it. Kakadu in a day is a long drive for a fraction of a very large park. There is a full comparison on our Litchfield waterfalls page.
Over more than a day
3 Day Kakadu & Litchfield Safarifrom $8193 days, 2 nightsSafari Tent3 days — Kakadu and LitchfieldView trip
3 Day Kakadu & Litchfield Tourfrom $9553 days, 2 nightsSwags or Safari Tent3 days — the same pair, different routeView trip
5 Day Kakadu, Litchfield & Katherine Gorgefrom $17995 days, 4 nightsTents or Swags5 days — adds Katherine GorgeView tripWhere this comes from. What the trip includes, the effort rating, group size, the Batchelor lunch stop, distances and prices are that trip's own details as held on its page here, and prices update on their own. Swimming closures and crocodile management are the Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife Commission's published advice for Litchfield National Park.