Lake Mungo
UNESCO World Heritage Site: Willandra Lakes Region (1981). A Dry Lake Bed In The Far West Of New South Wales Where The Remains Of Mungo Man And Mungo Lady, Cremated And Buried More Than 40,000 Years Ago, Make This One Of The Oldest Sites Of Modern Human Ritual Burial Anywhere On Earth, With Wind Carved Dune Formations Called The Walls Of China Along Its Eastern Shore · Mildura, New South Wales
Lake Mungo is a dry lake bed in the far west of New South Wales, about three hours north-east of Mildura inside Mungo National Park, part of the Willandra Lakes Region World Heritage Area listed in 1981. The lake has been dry for around fifteen thousand years, and wind has since carved its eastern dune ridge, known as the Walls of China, into a crescent of exposed sediment layers. Those layers hold one of the richest records of early modern human life anywhere on Earth, including the remains of Mungo Man and Mungo Lady, buried here more than forty thousand years ago in deliberate funerary rites involving ochre and cremation, among the oldest evidence of ritual human burial known anywhere. The site is jointly managed by NSW National Parks and the Three Tribal Groups - the Barkindji/Paakantyi, Ngyiampaa and Mutthi Mutthi traditional owners, for whom this country carries deep and continuing significance. Most visitors see the dune formations on a ranger-led or Aboriginal-guided tour, since large sections of the most sensitive ground are fenced off and closed to general walking.
In the far west of New South Wales, about 110 km north-east of Mildura, within Mungo National Park, Mildura, New South Wales, Australia
Mungo National Park is open every day of the year with no entry gate times, though the visitor centre near the old Mungo Woolshed keeps staffed daytime hours only and is sometimes unattended outside peak season. Guided Walls of China tours run on a set daily timetable, usually mid-morning and late afternoon, and must be booked rather than joined on arrival. Self-guided access to the main lookout and a short boardwalk section is free and unrestricted during daylight, but the fenced core of the Walls of China is entered only with a guide. The unsealed access road can close temporarily after heavy rain, cutting the park off completely for a day or more.