Daintree Rainforest / Cape Tribulation
Daintree National Park
Where the world's oldest rainforest (180 million years) meets the Great Barrier Reef, with cassowary sightings, river cruises for crocodiles, and canopy walkways.
Daintree National Park is the heart of the World Heritage tropical rainforest. From Port Douglas, it takes about 1 hour north to the Daintree River ferry crossing (vehicle ferry about AUD 47 return, operating 05:00 to 24:00). After crossing, you enter a pristine rainforest with no power grid or mobile signal. Drive another 35 km to Cape Tribulation, where the rainforest meets the Great Barrier Reef beaches. Highlights along the way include the Daintree Discovery Centre (adults about AUD 39, with a 23-metre canopy tower), the Marrdja and Dubuji boardwalks (30 to 45 minutes each, through mangroves and rainforest), Cow Bay Beach and Alexandra Lookout. A one-hour Daintree River cruise (about AUD 35) offers a chance to spot saltwater crocodiles. If you're lucky, you may see a cassowary, an endangered bird, by the roadside. Keep your distance and do not feed it. Most visitors take a day tour from Cairns or Port Douglas, including Mossman Gorge (about AUD 200 to 250). Self-drivers can use a sealed road from the ferry to Cape Tribulation, but the Bloomfield Track north of Cape Tribulation requires 4WD. Crocodiles and jellyfish are present at beaches and river mouths, so never swim there. Bring insect repellent and rain gear. Eco-lodges are the main accommodation in the rainforest, and it is worth staying a night to experience the forest after dark.
Opening hours
All day (ferry 05:00–24:00)
Nearby sights
- Dubuji Boardwalk
- Mount Sorrow Ridge Trail
- Daintree Ice Cream Company
- Daintree Discovery Centre
- Walu Wugirriga (Mount Alexandra) Lookout
- Daintree River Ferry
- Bloomfield Falls (Wujal Wujal)
- Daintree Village & Daintree River Cruise