The best Indigenous experiences in Australia

Where: Alice Springs, Northern Territory

What: A seven-day, small-group walking tour, run by Intrepid in partnership with 100% Finke River Culture and Adventure.

Winding through the rugged red sands of the West MacDonnell Ranges, the 231-kilometre Larapinta Trail is arguably Australia’s best desert trail. You can discover the Indigenous history of the area and its ancient landscape on a seven-day guided tour, starting and ending in Alice Springs. Led by Aboriginal guides, you’ll visit sacred sites like the Ochre Pits, camp under the Milky Way at a private campsite on Aboriginal land, and cap your adventure with the breathtaking summit of Mount Sonder.

What: A picturesque walking tour along a beachside rainforest walkway with the Gold Coast's only dedicated Aboriginal cultural centre, Jellurgal.

Where: Gold Coast, Queensland

Connect with the Gold Coast’s rich Indigenous culture on an engaging two-hour guided tour of the renowned Burleigh Headland, 'Dreaming Mountain'. As you wander along the 1.2-kilometre beachside rainforest route, you'll hear Dreamtime stories about the creation of Jellurgal and learn facts about bush tucker, fishing, hunting and the traditional sites used by the Yugambeh people.

Where: Ikara-Flinders Ranges, South Australia

What: Uncover the ancient stories behind rock art, as shared by members of the Adnyamathanha community.

With its rugged beauty and captivating sunsets, the Ikara-Flinders Ranges hold a treasure trove of stories that span more than 100 million years. On the two-hour Yura Malka Sacred Canyon Tour, an Adnyamathanha (Yura) guide will walk you through the rich traditions and cultures of their land. You'll delve into the meanings behind ancient rock engravings and explore the Sacred Canyon, a place accessible only with an Adnyamathanha guide.

Where: Daintree Rainforest (Kaba Kaba), Queensland

What: Immerse yourself in the Dreaming stories of Mossman Gorge.

Follow traditional owners as they walk you through the lush, green landscape of Mossman Gorge in Queensland’s World Heritage-listed Daintree National Park with Ngadiku Dreamtime Walks. Ngadiku (Nar-di-gul) means stories and legends from a long time ago in the local Kuku Yalanji language. The 1.5-hour tour features a traditional smoking ceremony, fascinating insights into bush foods, bush soaps and ochre paintings, and a post-hike treat of damper and bush tea.

Where: Ningaloo (Nginggulu) Reef, Western Australia

What: Learn the Dreaming stories of this globally significant marine park.

The World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Reef is known for its colossal whale sharks and vibrant coral, but it also has an ancient Indigenous history spanning tens of thousands of years. Uncover these stories with Baiyungu Dreaming’s Hazel Walgar, a Baiyungu woman deeply connected to Ningaloo. Join Hazel’s tag-a-long tour to explore signs of early Aboriginal occupation, learn the Dreaming story of the reef, snorkel in clear waters and visit a sea turtle nursery.

Where: Uluru, Northern Territory

What: Experience the world’s largest daily drone show deep in the heart of Australia.

Wintjiri Wiru, meaning ‘beautiful view out to the horizon’ in Pitjantjatjara language, is a breathtaking light show that illuminates the ancient Mala story of the Anangu people over Uluru. Created with Anangu elders, who hold the Mala story from Kaltukatjara to Uluru, the show features 1,100 drones, lasers and projections dancing across the night sky. Our hot tip: choose the sunset dinner option and enjoy a gourmet hamper celebrating native ingredients.

Where: Budj Bim, Victoria

What: Learn how First Nations people harnessed natural resources in Victoria’s southwest.

Budj Bim Cultural Landscape is a World Heritage-listed site that provides evidence of the extraordinary system of channels, weirs and dams developed by the Gunditjmara people in order to trap and harvest kooyang (short-finned eel) for more than six millennia. This Aboriginal-owned and operated site offers guided tours of the landscape and the state-of-the-art Aqua Culture Centre, while the café offers eel tasting plates prepared using traditional techniques and flavours.

Where: Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory

What: Kakadu offers front-row seats to some of the most incredible rock art on the planet.

Ubirr is home to two ancient Indigenous rock art galleries that can be explored via an easy one-kilometre loop track. For the best experience, go with an Indigenous guide. We recommend the incredible Victor Cooper, a Bininj man who runs Ayal Aboriginal Tours Kakadu. A former Indigenous ranger in Kakadu, Cooper specialises in translating the significance of the rock art and historic sites at Ubirr. Keep your eyes peeled for etchings of a Tasmanian tiger, the ethereal mimi spirits and a musket from the 1800s. After you’ve had your art fix, clamber up the rocks to find a prime spot to sit and watch the sunset drench the stretching flood plains.

Where: Bay of Fires (larapuna), Tasmania (departing Launceston)

What: This award-winning guided walk offers a deep immersion in Palawan history and culture.

A three-day, four-night hike along Tasmania’s northeast coast, wukalina Walk invites guests to takara waranta (walk with us in Palawa language). Venturing through the rugged landscape of wukalina (Mt William National Park) and larapuna (Bay of Fires), the walk is led by Palawa guides, who share knowledge of their ancestral connection to the land and sea, as well as their customs, food and the history of the region.

Where: Sunday Island (Ewuny), off Kimberley coast in Western Australia

What: Discover the ancient seafaring traditions of the Jawi people. 

Departing from the Dampier Peninsula near Broome, this tour journeys through Pearl Passage to Ewuny (Sunday Island), the Jawi people’s traditional country. Step aboard a boat with Jawi woman Rosanna Angus from Oolin Sunday Island Cultural Tours, as she shares stories of the ‘Tide Drifters,’ who once navigated Pearl Passage to hunt and trade. Pack your swimmers for a dip in Middle Beach’s pristine waters and keep an eye out for dolphins, dugongs, manta rays and sea turtles.

Where: West MacDonnell Ranges (Tjoritja), Northern Territory

What: This iconic gorge is a deeply spiritual site for the Western Arrernte people.

Translating to 'gap of water', Angkerle Atwatye (also known as Standley Chasm) is a striking 80-metre-high gorge that was formed through millions of years of rainfall and flooding. Located in the West MacDonnell Ranges, about 50 kilometres from Alice Springs – today, it’s 100 per cent owned and run by the Western Arrernte people. Take a guided tour of the site, where you’ll get to forage for a range of bush-tucker, including 'bush coconuts'.

Where: Murray River (Millewa/Dhungala), South Australia

What: Discover the rich Aboriginal heritage of South Australia’s iconic riverway.

This six-hour cruise along the last stretches of the Murray River, also known as the Coorong, immerses travellers in the rich heritage and culture of the Laklinyeri people. Led by Coorong traditional owner Mark Koolmatrie of Kool Tours, the cruise features an optional sand dune walk leading to the stunning 90-mile beach. A highlight is the lively ‘Coorong Shuffle’, digging in the sand for tantalising pipis/kuti, sampled onboard afterwards.

Where: Laura, Far North Queensland

What: This UNESCO-listed site features some jaw-dropping prehistoric art.

Described by archaeologists as a “20,000-year-old outback museum”, the Quinkan Rock Art collection in Far North Queensland is known for its vibrant and detailed paintings depicting the customs and daily life of the Kuku Yalanji people. Jarramali Rock Art Tours offer 4WD and helicopter tours of the region, where you can also see tree carvings, grindstones, engravings and other evidence of the oldest living culture on earth.

Where: Sydney, New South Wales

What: Immerse yourself in the native history of Warrane (Sydney Harbour) as you explore Barangaroo Reserve’s six-hectare headland.

Barangaroo, one of Sydney’s major harbourside developments, is named after a powerful Cammeraygal woman who lived at the time of early colonial settlement. She was a key figure in the local Aboriginal culture and community. One of her husbands was Bennelong, whose name is honoured at Bennelong Point, where you’ll find the Sydney Opera House. On Barangaroo’s Aboriginal Cultural Tours, you’ll uncover fascinating facts like this. Along the way, you'll have the chance to touch and even taste the 75,000 native Australian trees and shrubs that flourish in Barangaroo Reserve.

Where: Melbourne, Victoria

What: Learn about Aboriginal plant uses, customs and the enduring connection to Country with a First Nations guide.

Take a journey across the ancestral lands of the Kulin Nation in this guided walk through the Royal Botanic Gardens. Visitors are given insight into how the First Nations people lived within different environments of the gardens, from forest to rainforest and nearby wetlands. The Aboriginal Heritage Walk begins with a traditional Tanderrum smoking ceremony and Welcome to Country, and allows visitors to discover traditional uses of plants for food, tools and medicine. It finishes with a refreshing cup of lemon myrtle tea.