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Murujuga National Park

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Overview

Wikivoyage guide · 13 sections

▸Introduction713 chars

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. The national park, together with the Dampier Archipelago, was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2025.

▸History849 chars

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.

Facts

Rank

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Coordinates

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Source

WBP almanac

External sources

Wikivoyage Wikipedia

Media

From Wikipedia478 words

Introduction

National park in Australia Murujuga National ParkLocation in Western AustraliaLocationPilbara, Western Australia, AustraliaNearest cityKarratha (15 km)Coordinates20°35′S 116°50′E / 20.583°S 116.833°E / -20.583; 116.833Area48.51 km2 (18.73 sq mi)DesignationNational parkEstablished17 January 2013Governing bodyDepartment of Biodiversity, Conservation and AttractionsWebsiteMurujuga National Park Murujuga NP boundary Murujuga National Park is a national park on Burrup Peninsula in the Pilbara region in the north-west of Western Australia, covering an area of 48.51 km2 (18.73 sq mi).

History

[edit] Murujuga National Park was officially declared on 17 January 2013 as the 100th national park in Western Australia. The park protects what is considered the world’s highest concentration of ancient petroglyphs, with over ten thousand rock engravings created by the region's Aboriginal peoples.

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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 websites62 chars

Parks and Wildlife Services WA

Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation

▸Get in155 chars

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 permits55 chars

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

▸See and do255 chars

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)

▸Tours465 chars

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 drink70 chars

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

▸Sleep88 chars

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

▸Respect194 chars

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

▸Stay safe147 chars

As is the case in much of this part of the world, hot weather is a serious risk here. Bring plenty of water with you, especially during the summer.

▸Go next25 chars

Head to south to Karratha

[edit] The national park is located on the northern and western part of the Burrup Peninsula, also known by its Aboriginal name, Murujuga. It lies approximately 200 km (120 mi) west of Port Hedland and 15 km (9.3 mi) north of Karratha, and covers an area of 48.51 km2 (18.73 sq mi). It can be accessed via Dampier Road and Burrup Peninsula Road.

Visiting

[edit] After the Murujuga National Park was closed for some months to allow for its construction, the Ngajarli Trail was completed in August 2020. Traditional owners working in collaboration with the government created a 700-metre (2,300 ft) universal boardwalk, along with interpretative signs. The Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation hopes to improve and enlarge facilities for visitors and to help them appreciate the cultural significance of the site.

World Heritage Listing

[edit] In July 2025 UNESCO listed the rock art gallery, an area covering nearly 100,000 ha (250,000 acres) known as the Murujuga Cultural Landscape, as a World Heritage Site. The area includes the park. Monitoring program and controversy[edit] A monitoring program was instituted to develop emissions standards that would help protect the rock art from air pollution caused by industrial development on the Burrup peninsula. An 800-page monitoring report was completed in 2024 and made public on 22 August 2025, together with a summary document with an important graph having been altered against the lead scientist's wishes, and which included the statement: "The research indicates that the current levels of the pollutants of most concern for the rock art are lower than the interim guideline levels", this statement was described by the lead scientist, Adrian Baddeley, as, "factually incorrect and misrepresent(ing) the scientific findings". Adding to the discussion, WA Premier Roger Cook commented: "current industrial processes on the Burrup have not had an impact in relation to the rock art" and "... it's very pleasing that (there is) no ongoing impact as a result of that industrial activity", to which Baddeley's response was: "The claim that we established that no further damage is occurring to the rocks is simply false". The year-old report and its summary were released just one month after the park's listing as a world heritage site and less than a week before the Australian federal government's announcement of a 40-year licence renewal for Woodside's Burrup Peninsula LNG plant.