Western Australia · Attraction
Purnululu National Park and the Bungle Bungle Range
Ancient domes, world heritage wonder
schedule 1 min read / Updated Jun 2026
Purnululu National Park shelters one of Australia's most extraordinary landscapes: the Bungle Bungle Range, a maze of beehive-shaped sandstone towers striped in orange and black. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2003, the park sits about 304 km south of Kununurra and is accessible only in the dry season by high-clearance 4WD. The formations were largely unknown to the wider world until the 1980s.
The Bungle Bungle Range is composed of Devonian-age quartz sandstone shaped over 20 million years of erosion. The distinctive tiger-stripe pattern comes from alternating bands of orange silica and dark grey cyanobacteria. Two iconic gorges bookend the range: Cathedral Gorge in the south opens into a vast natural amphitheatre, while Echidna Chasm in the north is a narrow slot canyon that glows amber in morning light.
The park is open roughly April to late November, weather permitting, and is closed entirely during the wet season when the unsealed Spring Creek Track becomes impassable. Day visitors can self-register at the visitor centre. Scenic flights from Kununurra and Halls Creek offer a vivid alternative for those without 4WD access.
Scenic views
Lookouts near Purnululu National Park and the Bungle Bungle Range.
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