The best walks and wildlife experiences on Christmas Island

Sixty per cent of Christmas Island is national park, which makes it a destination for nature lovers from around the world.

When documentary maker Sir David Attenborough listed the annual mass migration of millions of Christmas Island crabs as ‘one of the top 10 most memorable TV moments from his life’s work’, nature lovers from around the world sat up and took notice. That was in 2008. And it was a big call, coming from one of the world’s foremost naturalists whose life work spans five decades and who has cuddled gorillas, climbed mountains, waded into African swamps and braved Arctic temperatures to capture awe-inspiring footage for his global audience.

Attenborough caught the spectacle on camera during filming for The Trials of Life in 1990. Since then, an ever-increasing number of visitors have been drawn to the island to witness the phenomenon of the red crabs marching sideways en masse down to the Indian Ocean. The synchronised migration of some 40 to 50 million red land crabs takes place between October and January, depending on the start of the wet season and levels of moisture in the air. The red crab migration is the main attraction on Christmas Island and the easiest places to watch the phenomenon are at Flying Fish Cove, Ethel Beach and Greta Beach. But the red crabs are only one of 20 terrestrial and intertidal crabs that call the island home; in your day-to-day travels you are also likely to come across various species of hermit crab, ghost crabs, nipper crabs, land crabs and cave crabs as well as the endemic blue crabs that inhabit the wetlands. The birdwatching here is also world class.

Christmas Island National Park covers 85 square kilometres (63 per cent) of the island’s land area, and there is a proclamation pending to declare its waters a marine park. Exploring it is easy with our comprehensive guide to Christmas Island’s best walks and wildlife encounters below, but you can also make it even easier to uncover the island’s hidden gems with Travel Exchange Christmas Island, they are experts on how best to experience this tropical jungle paradise. No matter how you choose to see it, you can expect to encounter everything from Christmas Island crabs and rare frigatebirds to nesting turtles and whale sharks in this nature lover’s wonderland.

Best walks on Christmas Island

Hughs Dale

It’s a mostly easy 1.5-kilometre walk across a series of seven water courses down a narrow twisting path through the wetlands to get to Hughs Dale. The streams bubble up from underground caves that flow into the ocean and, over time, the pooling water has hewn a series of gorges and natural terraces into the landscape. This unique wetland ecosystem is listed as a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention, and a detour to the Dales is a must when on Christmas Island. In addition to the soundtrack of tinkling streams, this enchanted forest is made more magical with its mossy carpet over the smooth-worn stone staircase, and lichen splotched over the forest floor. Follow the boardwalk through the majestic Tahitian chestnut trees, strangler figs and banyan trees to get to Hughs Dale Waterfall, a destination in its own right.

The unique wetland ecosystem of Hughs Dale.

Best for: All ages, suitable for families

Highlight: Cool off with a shower under the natural waterfall.

Anderson Dale

It’s more of a moderate walk to get to Anderson Dale, which starts at the car park near the elevated walkway. The 3.6- kilometre track passes through a pristine swathe of rainforest to arrive at a freshwater stream that has carved a small gorge through the limestone cliffs that wind their way to the ocean. You will find a series of caves further down the gorge, which is dotted with small boulders, and contains a small cove, and an enormous twisted tangle of tree roots. There is stunning scenery around every bend on this rainforest walk which boasts permanent and perennial streams, springs, and an extraordinary array of animals, birds, and plants.

Best for: The gorge can be rough and slippery at times, making it suitable for those with a moderate level of fitness and mobility.

Highlight: The Dales is one of the few places on the island with permanent flowing water, providing a significant habitat for the island’s endemic blue crabs.

Martin Point Walk

It’s 4WD access only to Martin Point, which is also located in the Dales area. From the car park at Martin Point, it’s a short walk of 150 metres to a viewing platform that juts out over the edge of the soaring cliffs like an open drawer. Martin Point is a great place to sit down and watch the sun sink over the sea and waves crashing over the park’s western shoreline and fringing reefs. Bring a pair of binoculars to scan the skies for great frigatebirds and the brown Abbott’s booby, which nest near the sea cliffs. If you’re driving on the road in the dark, take extra care to avoid the island’s giant robber crabs, which are the world’s largest land crustacean. Robber crabs, also called coconut crabs, can grow up to one metre across and weigh up to 4.5 kilograms and live for more than 50 years.

Sunset magic at Martins Point.

Best for: All ages and abilities

Highlight: The viewing platform gives you a front-row seat to admire the sunset, all fiery burnt orange hues.

Margaret Knoll Walk

It’s a short and easy walk along a boardwalk and up a series of steps to the spectacular Margaret Knoll lookout, which is one of the most photogenic spots on the island. Situated at the edge of a plunging inland cliff, the lookout offers panoramic views of the island, with its smooth folds covered in a blanket of green that stretches down to the rolling, roiling blue of the ocean some 200 metres below. Margaret Knoll Walk offers one of the best vantage points to spot seabirds, including frigate birds, brown and red-footed boobies and the golden bosun. You may also spot endangered flying foxes in the late afternoon and early evening.

Boardwalks and viewing platforms across the island connect visitors to stunning beaches, wildlife and spectacular views.

Best for: All ages and abilities, nature-lovers and birdwatchers

Highlight: The potential to spot sea birds such as the beautiful golden bosun which you will often see spearing into the water to feed on fish and squid.

Perpendicular Wall Walk

Named after the dive site that jacks up at an angle of about 90 degrees, this spectacular Perpendicular Wall Walk winds its way through the terraced forests of Christmas Island along a fairly flat trail for about 10 kilometres. Dwarfed by a range of inland cliffs, the walk is rooved by sky and walled by wilderness that erupts with the magnificent frigatebirds and the iconic colourful red crabs. While Perpendicular Wall is a well-known dive site, the scenery above sea level is every bit as striking. Sign up for a red crab spawning tour with Indian Ocean Experiences to watch the red crabs waterfall over the side of cliffs in their efforts to deliver their trillions of eggs to the sea.

Best for: Fitness enthusiasts

Highlight: The panoramic views over the north-west coastline of Christmas Island.

The Blowholes Walk

A 4WD is required to get to the Blowholes, where you can bask in the grandeur of watching Mother Nature vent. The best view is from the platform oriented toward the blowholes that spurt water upwards in the sky through hundreds of holes that pockmark the rocky coastline. The airborne jets of water lend the landscape of black rock pinnacles movement and drama, transforming this orchestrated performance into live theatre with the surround sound of roaring ocean. The viewing platform has seating and is close to the car park, making it the perfect place to sit and relax or enjoy an afternoon picnic.

Marvel at The Blowholes.

Best for: The track to the Blowholes features some of the island’s most thrilling wilderness including a giant strangler fig carpeted in emerald-green moss in the middle of the virgin forest.

Highlight: The spectacular performance by Mother Nature of the blowholes blasting water sky-high.

Best wildlife encounters on Christmas Island

Flying Fish Cove

Flying Fish Cove is one of the main hubs on the island and is a gathering spot for snorkelers who like to spot creatures such as octopus and turtles and kids who like to watch the ships being loaded from the cove. People come and go all day here and it’s a soothing place to sit and watch tourists catching dive boats out to sea, children yahooing off the jetty and the rugged assemblage of cranes elbowing the sky at the mooring facility. Watch for spinner dolphins on the horizon, breaking the surface of the translucent seas.

Flying Fish Cove is one of the main hubs on the island.

Best for: It’s just a short boat ride away to see whale sharks and manta rays.

Highlight: Kicking back on the foreshore at dusk when the sun paints the sky in brushstrokes of pink and purple.

Lily Beach

To snorkel off Lily Beach is to truly descend into an underwater world. Take a few steps off the shore and dive in and then drift with the current amidst jewel-coloured coral and tropical fish. The curve of sand is one of the island’s most accessible with the beach protected from the wind thanks to being bracketed by sea cliffs. Watch fish playing hide and seek in the coral, wade into the shallow aquamarine rock pools or swim into the deeper water to depths tinted unimaginable shades of blue. To get to this secluded beach you must follow a walking trail past blowholes spitting and blasting white water onto the rocks. The biodiversity on show here is breathtaking, from nesting sea birds to a diverse range of reef-dwelling fish.

Step into paradise at Lily Beach.

Best for: Keen wildlife observers and fans of megafauna (whale sharks, manta rays and sharks).

Highlight: There is an infinity pool hidden near to this oft-deserted beach.

Ethel Beach

From Lily Beach you can stroll along the 1.5-kilometre boardwalk that snakes through a broad furrow between limestone karst formations that look like they’ve been attacked with a blunt axe. Look for nesting brown boobies with their fluffy white chicks close by. Don a mask and snorkel or do some shore diving in the silky shallows here where you will find cities made out of coral as neon-bright as signage you’d expect to see in Sydney’s Kings Cross: from hot pink to purple, yellow, red and blue. Make sure you stare up at the trees off the ruggedly beautiful beach to spot birds nesting here between March and September.

Best for: Birdwatchers

Highlights: Rare birdlife encounters with the great frigatebird and lesser frigatebird, which nest here during breeding season. The red-footed booby and Eastern reef egret are also known to make cameos here.

Greta Beach

Access to Greta Beach is by 4WD only, followed by a short jaunt down a jungle boardwalk before reaching a set of very steep stairs. Travel to Christmas and Coco Island with long-time local Lisa Preston, of Indian Ocean Experiences, to get a front-row view of Australia’s Galapagos and really immerse yourself in the landscape. From giant coconut crabs, or robber crabs, to dancing boobies, spinner dolphins, screeching frigatebirds and whale sharks, Lisa knows the lay of the land and will connect you to the endemic flora and fauna on the island in a very conscious, and considered way. To see Christmas Island in all its glory, Lisa will guide you up close, on foot and under the water.

Greta Beach is accessible by 4WD only.

Best for: Spotting nesting turtles, hermit crabs and red crabs during the spawning season. It’s also a popular picnic spot.

Highlight: This stunning picturesque beach is shaped by seasonal swells and has a dramatic backdrop of craggy sea cliffs.

West White Beach

Few places exemplify the raw, rugged nature of Christmas Island as this secluded beach which also makes a great backdrop for selfies. Start your experience in a 2WD to get to the top of the track, which wends down to the sand. It’s about an hour’s walk to get to West White Beach, so you will discover a wealth of flora and fauna, including species that are endemic to the island. It’s worth wandering along the track, which varies in difficulty, until you get to the short cliff descent (via rope) that will get you down to a long, secluded stretch of sand, where you will find more photo opportunities against a backdrop of cliffs that appear to have been hacked with a blunt axe.

West White coral reefs are teeming with life.

Best for: This stunning beach has coral reefs just offshore and is famed in the diving community for its West White Beach Cave, one of the best places to dive off Christmas Island.

Highlight: The coral reefs, which are teeming with life.

Winifred Beach

It’s 4WD access only to the start of the track to Winifred Beach, which requires a moderate level of fitness due to the rough surface of the track and the steep section that stretches down to the beach. It’s a half-hour walk each way or two hours each way if walking from the gate along the 4WD track. While Christmas Island is, in general, a wildlife lover’s dream, it’s also a treat for those who fancy bouts of forest bathing. The leaves of the trees in this rugged coastal terrace rainforest have a deep lustre to them and the birdsong is beautiful.

Best for: This signposted trail leads through rugged coastal terrace rainforest, before reaching a cliff face with a steep staircase that leads to a rocky shoreline. It’s suitable for fit, active types only.

Highlight: This beach is rugged, the water turquoise and it’s a jaw-droppingly picturesque place to swim. Charge your GoPro: the biggest highlight here might be seeing a whale shark, manta ray or turtle cruise by.

Dolly Beach

You must climb to the start of the Dolly Beach track by 4WD before setting off along the boardwalk, which snakes for 1.8 kilometres through national park where the trees sway, creak and groan in the wind. Set a leisurely pace along the Dolly Beach walking track to arrive at the isolated Dolly Beach, which is an incredibly pretty place to loll. Pack a picnic so you can maximise your time spent dipping in and out of the azure waters complete with a coral reef. But be warned: the cheeky coconut crabs are also known as robber crabs because of their thieving ways, so keep a close eye on your food and drinks.

The isolated Dolly Beach.

Best for: Families and people of all ages and abilities

Highlight: Spot hermit crabs in the rock pools, and watch out for the area’s robber crabs as well as the turtles that nest here all year round. Take a dip in the ‘Dolly Beach Spa’ a natural rock pool where the waves bubble up

Located 2600 km north-west of Perth and closer to Asia than to mainland Australia, Christmas Island is unlike anywhere you’ve ever visited before.

Christmas Island, unfairly, is no stranger to bad headlines. So if the only thing you know about this tropical island in the middle of the Indian Ocean is what you’ve read in the news, read on to find out why – between its luxury eco-retreat, unique wildlife encounters and secret swimming spots – it might just be Australia’s best-kept secret, and one of the most unforgettable places you’ll ever visit.

1. It’s a tropical jungle paradise

With a tropical climate that enjoys balmy temperatures in the mid-20s year-round and a landscape characterised by lush jungle and an emerald-green coastline, Christmas Island is a true island paradise. It’s home to a dazzling array of rare and unusual birds and a crazy numbers of crabs, not to mention secret swimming spots and jungle waterfalls – and 63 per cent of its footprint is designated national park.

Tropical reefs teeming with life lie beyond the shoreline; with water temperatures bobbing around a clement 28°C, they make for some of the best diving and snorkelling spots you’ll find anywhere.

Christmas Island is a true paradise.

2. It’s home to one of Australia’s most remote and exclusive eco-lodges

Swell Lodge is Christmas Island’s first luxury eco-retreat, set deep within the jungle of Christmas Island National Park on the edge of a cliff-side that drops away into the Indian Ocean. Its two solar-powered eco chalets are completely secluded from each other and thoughtfully designed in suitably natural and oceanic tones.

The pièce de résistance in each eco-chalet is an expansive private deck that provides your very own audience with the Indian Ocean – with its mighty swell and mesmerising sunsets. A stay at Swell Lodge is an all-inclusive experience, and includes dinner prepared on your deck each night by your very own chef, who works creatively and expertly with ingredients foraged straight from the jungle.

By day, guided activities include everything from nature trails to waterfalls, hidden beaches, swimming holes and the magical wetland area known as the Dales (a popular crab hangout), to boat trips out to some of the island’s best snorkelling spots. In-chalet yoga sessions and massages are also on hand for when you need a little downtime after all that adventuring.

Swell Lodge is Christmas Island’s first luxury eco-retreat.

You can find more Christmas Island accommodation here.

3. It’s closer to Asia than mainland Australia

A trip to Christmas Island lets you feel like you’re leaving the country without having to think about visa requirements or plug adaptors: a speck in the Indian Ocean 2600 kilometres north-west of Perth, this Australian territory is closer to Asia than to mainland Australia; its nearest neighbour is Java, just 360 kilometres away. A direct flight from the WA capital takes just under four hours (and departs from the international terminal – all part of the adventure).

Virgin Australia runs flights twice a week from Perth.

Christmas Island is a wild destination in the Indian Ocean that’s closer to Asia than Perth. (Image: Christmas Island Tourism Association)

4. It has some of Australia’s best – and most hidden – beaches

Secluded, fringed by coconut palms and only accessible via a forest boardwalk, Dolly Beach on Christmas Island’s east coast was voted seventh best beach in Australia by Tourism Australia beach ambassador Brad Farmer in 2017. And it’s just one of many similarly hidden gems on the island.

While its 80-kilometre coastline is dominated by an almost continuous sea cliff, it gives way to some shallow bays and a series of small and impossibly pretty sand and coral shingle beaches. There’s even one so petite, Merrial Beach (only accessible at low tide), that it comfortably accommodates a couple of people at a time; local ‘law’ dictates that if you already see a car parked at the trail’s entrance, drive on.

Explore Australia’s best – and most hidden – beaches. (Photo: Chris Bray)

5. There are secret swimming spots to discover

One of the joys of a trip to Christmas Island is getting to experience its myriad secret swimming holes, from a grotto associated with Chinese legend to Hughs Dale Waterfall (which makes not so much for a swimming spot as it does a rainforest shower spot).

Indulge in a rainforest shower at Hughs Dale Waterfall.

Take the mostly easy 1.5-kilometre walk through the rainforest along a boardwalk to get to the Hughs Dale Waterfall. This waterfall is set within the Dales, a unique wetland ecosystem that is fed from streams that bubble up from underground caves that flow into the ocean and have resulted in pooling water that has hewn a series of gorges into the landscape over time.

The Grotto, a sandy-floored hidden pool drenched with streaks of sunlight flowing in from the entrance of the cave, is equally magical and just a 10-minute drive from the Settlement. Then there are the island’s many beaches to explore; put Lily Beach at the top of your list, it is surrounded by cliffs on both sides and the at low tide the ocean recedes to reveal a collection of pretty rock pools to explore.

6. Christmas Island has some of the world’s best snorkelling and diving

Ringed by tropical reef, Christmas Island erupts dramatically from the edge of the Java Trench, the Indian Ocean’s deepest point – and with practically no coastal shelf, this means the water plummets to a depth of about 500 metres not far offshore, which means you don’t have to sail (or swim) very far to find some spectacular diving walls. All this combines to make for some of the best snorkelling and diving conditions in the world.

Take a day trip out with Christmas Island Wet ‘n’ Dry Adventures (an option when you stay at Swell Lodge) to explore untouched corals and shipwrecks and meet all manner of tropical fish including surgeon fish, wrasse, butterfly fish and giant trevally. You might even spot dolphins, sea turtles, and, between November and April, the majestic whale shark.

Christmas Island has some of the world’s best snorkelling and diving.

7. You can see crabs all year round. Lots of ’em.

You might have heard of the annual red crab migration that takes place on Christmas Island and was made famous by Sir David Attenborough; the naturalist has described witnessing this phenomenon while shooting a documentary in 1990 as one of his greatest TV moments.

An estimated 40 to 50 million bright red land crabs live in shady spots all over the island and every year, with the first rainfall of the wet season, they start their merry march across the island to the ocean to breed – swarming across roads, streams, rocks and beaches and turning them all into blankets of red. The migration (which can happen anytime between October and January) is the island’s biggest tourist attraction but if your visit doesn’t coincide, rest assured you’ll still see crabs. Lots of ’em.

In fact, their proliferation contributes to a sense of ‘island time’ – the time it takes you to drive anywhere is dependent on how many crabs you must carefully navigate around and gently sweep off the road (your Swell Lodge hosts will show you how). In fact, you get so used to this idiosyncratic island ritual that it makes going to home to crab-free roads a rather strange sensation at first.

The annual crab migration is a sight to behold.

8. But it’s not all about the red crabs

The red crab is just one of 14 species of land crab that lives on Christmas Island. There’s also the endemic Christmas Island blue crab – with its beautiful sky-blue hues – and the coconut crab, the largest land-living arthropod in the world that’s also known as the robber crab on account of its thieving tendencies. Christmas Island hosts the largest and best-protected population of these magnificent creatures in the world.

Keep your eyes peeled for a blue crab.

9. It’s a birdwatcher’s paradise

People flock (pun intended) from around the world to catch sight of Christmas Island frigatebird patrolling the sky, the rarest of its kind in the world, and the Abbott’s booby, a species of the seabird that only breeds here on the island. There are hundreds of bird species here, with seven of the 13 land birds endemic to the island. Watch out for the elegant golden bosun, the melodious Christmas Island thrush and the elusive Christmas Island hawk owl.

One place you’re all but guaranteed a sighting of an Abbott’s booby, or one of the island’s other feathered friends, is during feeding time at the volunteer-run bird rehabilitation centre at the Parks Australia headquarters.

There are hundreds of bird species on the island.

10. And a natural scientist’s dream, too

With so many endemic species, Christmas Island is considered the Galápagos of the Indian Ocean; you’ll meet plenty of PhD students out here researching its weird and wonderful fauna. Their efforts are focused on the Pink House, a research station in the middle of the rainforest that includes a reptile house and Lizard Lounge, which is open to tourists every Wednesday.

Here, Parks Australia is busy breeding the blue-tail lizard, which is extinct in the wild, and other endemic reptiles

11. Christmas Island is a melting pot of cultures

The island is home to a multicultural community that harmoniously blends Buddhist, Christian, Taoist and Muslim residents. The foundation of this melting pot was laid in the late 19^th century, when Britain annexed Christmas Island to claim its valuable phosphate deposits and migrant workers, including Chinese, Malays and Sikhs, arrived from overseas to staff the mine and its operations.

The island became an Australian territory in 1958 and today its 2000-strong population, focused largely on the settlement at Flying Fish Cove, is a mixture of Chinese and Malay Australians as well as people from mainland Australia. Watch out for the Taoist temples and shrines that overlook the ocean, and the gleaming mosque in Kampong, the island’s traditionally Malay neighbourhood.

You’ll find the melting pot of cultures reflected in the architecture on Christmas Island.

12. It’s got one of the world’s most unique golf courses

This one’s for those who like their nine-hole golf course with a view. Australia’s northernmost golf course is located among palm trees and tropical rainforest with a sweeping view of the Indian Ocean. Just watch out for robber crabs trying to pinch your golf ball. Established in 1955, the golf course hosts the Christmas Island Golf Open every year in May.

13. There’s even an open-air cinema

Cap off your unique island experience by watching a movie in the balmy open-air of Christmas Island Outdoor Cinema. Established in the ’80s, this community-based organisation is run by volunteers and screens new-release and cult-classic movies at 7.30pm every Saturday. Tickets are just $5 a pop for adults and $2 for children (up to 17 years), and there’s a kiosk, too, selling choc tops, popcorn and other snacks.

14. You can stopover in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands

Get two holidays for one when you visit Christmas Island by stopping over in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands – another external Australian territory in the Indian Ocean, about halfway between Perth and Sri Lanka.

Of the two return flights between Perth and Christmas Island a week, one leg of each goes via the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. This atoll of 27 islands, of which only two are inhabited (with a tiny community of about 600 Cocos Malay people), is a perfect complement to a stay on Christmas Island. Both fall into tropical paradise territory: whereas Christmas Island is all wild jungle and dramatic sea cliffs, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands are all long stretches of white-sand beaches fringed by lazily swaying palm trees.

The waters off the island are famously pristine.

15. Christmas Island is a freediver’s dream

A dreamy destination for both the professional freedivers and for those wanting to learn the skills to dive beneath the surface on one breath. Australian freediving champion and AIDA/Molchanovs instructor David Mulheron, has a passion for teaching others to freedive. Christmas Island is blessed with crystal clear water, incredible marine life and freedivers are blessed with the luxury of the reef dropping off only a short swim from shore. You won’t believe what you can see in just one breath.

Whether you are a complete newbie or are fine-tuning your skills, you will learn techniques in a short period of time that will leave you feeling confident and in awe of what your body is capable of. Our tip would be to schedule your freediving course for the first two days of your trip, that way you can continue to improve your skills every day for the rest of your visit to this remote slice of paradise.

Freediving with Dave Mulheron on Christmas Island

Learn to freedive to explore the underwater paradise of Christmas Island.