Willandra Lakes Region, Nature reserve in Balranald Shire Council, Australia.

Willandra Lakes Region is a nature reserve in Balranald Shire Council featuring vast areas of dried lake beds, sand dunes, and mixed vegetation communities of mallee eucalypt and saltbush. The landscape shows clear evidence of ancient water systems and presents visitors with a dry, sparsely settled terrain shaped by its geological past.

Archaeological evidence shows the region was occupied by people around 45,000 years ago, making it one of Australia's earliest inhabited places. The lakes that once defined the landscape disappeared due to natural climate shifts, gradually transforming the region into the dry terrain visible today.

The region is the traditional meeting place of the Muthi Muthi, Ngiyampaa and Paakantyi (Barkandji) peoples, its traditional owners. In 2017 ancestral remains found near Lake Mungo were returned to them. Visitors can see the lunette called Walls of China, the main feature of Mungo National Park, which covers about 30% of the area; the rest is pastoral lease.

Exploring this remote area requires visitors to bring substantial water supplies, navigation tools, and suitable vehicles due to limited infrastructure. Summer temperatures exceed 40°C (104°F), so visiting during cooler months makes the experience more comfortable and safer.

The world's oldest known cremation, dated to about 40,000 years ago, lies within the region, not at a single lake; the remains called Mungo Lady were found in 1968 in a dune at Lake Mungo, and Mungo Man, covered in red ochre, was reported nearby in 1974. Fossil human footprints about 19,000 to 23,000 years old were found in 2003.