Roughly the size of Germany, with a population of less than 40,000, the Kimberley is known for its rugged natural beauty and rich cultural history.

Geographically, the region stretches from Broome in the west to the Northern Territory border in the east, and north to the Timor Sea.

For most tourists, tropical Broome is the gateway to the region, while others start their journey in Kununurra, the eastern gateway.

The mostly unsealed 660 km Gibb River Road runs through the heart of the region, connecting the most well-known tourism ventures, cattle stations, Aboriginal communities and crocodile-inhabited rivers.

Then there is the World Heritage-listed Purnululu National Park (Bungle Bungles) and El Questro Homestead, arguably the most coveted getaway in the region.

June to August are the most popular months to visit the Kimberley, with temperatures ranging from 14 to 34 degrees Celsius.

The wet season is from November to April.

This vast, thinly populated land offers an endless variety of exotic landscapes, unusual flora and fauna, and the feeling of being an explorer. Whether you travel by tour or on your own, by car, plane or helicopter, you will see the Kimberley in all its variety: red mountain ranges and roaring waterfalls, mighty rivers and clear lakes, strange rock formations and gorges, and picturesque bays and lagoons on the coast.

The region is world famous for its pink diamonds and for the largest cultured sea pearls in the world. Of Australia's 48 wild rivers most are in the Kimberley (33), and they are the largest and most abundant on the continent. The region is also home to huge man-made Lake Argyle (1,000 square km), called Australia's 'inland sea'.

Aboriginal people have lived here as nomads for more than 20,000 years, and ancient rock paintings and ceremonial sites can be seen across the Kimberley plateau. Today Aboriginal people make up about two-thirds of the population and live in communities on their own lands.

The Kimberley has a subequatorial climate with an average temperature of 27 degrees C and two distinct seasons: the wet season from November to April, and the dry season from May to October, the best time for tours.

There are only two main towns, 1,043 km apart: Broome (15,000 people) on the Indian Ocean in the south-west, and Kununurra (7,000 people) in the east, built in the 20th century near the rivers and Lake Argyle. They are the main gateways to the national parks of the Kimberley, and the starting and finishing points of most tours.