Karijini Eco Retreat
About Karijini National Park
An Iconic Destination The Ancient Pilbara Region of Western Australia
Karijini National Park is an iconic, unspoiled nature-based destination. Filled with unique and diverse landscapes, a visit here is an unforgettable outback experience.
Located 1,500km north of Perth and around 80km north-east of Tom Price, Karijini (formerly Hamersley Range) National Park is the second largest national park in Western Australia covering 627,422 hectares and is ranked in the top 5 visitor experiences for the state.
Karijini is famous for its spectacular gorges and slot canyons, towering sheer sided chasms up to 100 metres deep, dramatic waterfalls, rocky creeks, refreshing waterholes and colours ranging from pindan red-orange to deep blue-purple rocks and jade green water.
This is an ancient part of the planet. Standing deep inside a gorge, you’ll feel like you’ve taken a journey back in time, to the centre of the earth. Billions of years in the making, the slow process of erosion has carved the shape of the land out of rocks that are over 2.5 billion years old to form this intriguing landscape and complex ecology.
Karijini’s climate can best be described as tropical semi-desert. A highly variable, mainly summer rainfall of 250350mm, often associated with thunderstorms and cyclones, is accompanied by temperatures frequently topping 40°C. The ideal times to visit are late autumn, winter and early spring. Winter days are warm and clear, but nights are cold and sometimes frosty.
A party led by explorer F.T. Gregory explored the area in 1861. He named the Hamersley Range, on which the National Park is centred, after his good friend Edward Hamersley. The Traditional Owners and original custodians of this land gave the Banjima name for this range as Karijini, and so the National Park was officially renamed.
Karijini National Park Entry Fees
Traditional Owners
Karijini NP is the traditional home of the Banyjima, Kurrama and Innawonga Aboriginal people. The Banjima name for the Hamersley Range is Karijini. The name of the Park recognises the historic and continuing significance of the area to the people and their involvement in park management. Evidence of their ancestors occupation dates back more than 30,000 years. During that period, Aboriginal land management practices such as ‘fire stick farming’, resulting in a diversity of vegetation types and stages of succession, have helped determine the nature of the plants and animals found in the Park today.
Fern Pool and Circular Pool are among many sacred and special places to Aboriginal people. In Aboriginal Dreamtime stories, a giant serpent created these pools in a time when the earth was soft, and the spirit is believed to still live in these waters. You will feel a special, tranquil energy in these places and the cool water is perfect to swim in after a day of hiking the gorges. To protect the heritage, cultural and environmental values of these areas, visitors are encouraged to be respecful, enter the water quietly and avoid making loud noises. Access to the area above Fern Pool is not permitted. Please do not climb or jump from this waterfall or from the ledges surrounding Circular Pool.
When you choose to stay at Karijini Eco Retreat, you are contributing to the economic, social, and community development of the Traditional Owners. Karijini Eco Retreat is owned by Gumala Enterprises & Development Pty Ltd, the business arm of the Gumala Trust, which is one of Australia’s largest Traditionally Owned organisations, serving the Banjima, Yinhawangka and Nyiyaparli people of the Pilbara region in Western Australia.
For more information on Gumala, click here.
