The ultimate guide to visiting the Undara Lava Tubes

About four hours southwest of Cairns and five hours northwest of Townsville lies one of the best-preserved, oldest and longest lava tube systems on earth, the Undara Lava Tubes. The main attraction in Undara Volcanic National Park, this complex and awe-inspiring lava tube system in the Undara basalt flow formed after a volcanic eruption around 190,000 years ago. It’s one of Australia’s greatest – yet lesser known – geological wonders.

‘Undara’, an Aboriginal word meaning ‘long way’, perfectly describes this unique geographical feature which Sir David Attenborough described as one of the most “unexplored geological features of the earth”. He declared that Undara should be the eighth Wonder of the World, and after exploring and witnessing the magnificence of this tube system for yourself, you may well be inclined to agree.

Undara Lava Tubes Tours

As the cave ecosystems are so delicate and there’s the potential for visitors to lose their way in the caves, all visitors to the Undara Lava Tubes must join a guided tour with experienced tour operator, Undara Experience. This Undara tour and accommodation provider is located at the gateway to the park and offers three tour experiences which take around two hours and include two lava tube daytime tours – Archway Explorer Lava Tube Tour and Wind Tunnel Explorer – and the dusk-timed Wildlife at Sunset Tour, an amazing way to experience a big sky sunset complete with iconic Australian wildlife.

Undara Experience tours are guided by the award-winning Savannah Guides – a non-profit network of highly-skilled tour guides and tourism operators – whose in-depth knowledge and understanding of the Tropical Savannah and its bounty of natural and cultural treasures are sure to increase your appreciation for the magnificence of this geographical wonder and the surrounding environment.

Note: From November to February, visitor access to the Wind Tunnel Complex and Barkers Cave is restricted to protect breeding bats.

Undara Volcanic National Park

While the Undara Lava Tubes are undoubtedly the highlight and main attraction at Undara Volcanic National Park, there are plenty of other activities that will enhance the time you spend here. While you need to join a guided tour to explore the lava tubes to stay safe and protect the species that call this exceptional geological wonder home, you can explore the park on a variety of self-guided walking tracks which range from 2.5 to 12 kilometres return.

The top walks at Undara Volcanic National Park include the Kalkani Crater Rim Walk (2.5km return) and the Atkinsons Lookout Trail (3.8km return), both of which are ‘Grade 3’ walking tracks and suitable for most ages and fitness levels. The rim of the Kalkani Crater offers magical experiences after dark – it delivers unobstructed views of the Milky Way. The 12km Rosella Plains Lookout Trail is a ‘Grade 4’ walking track recommended for experienced walkers and takes around four to six hours to complete.

Undara Volcanic National Park is accessible by car, motorhome and 4WD, even if it’s been raining. As a Queensland national park, Undara is free to visit, but with its relatively remote location, ensure you have adequate water and snacks. Food and drinks are also available at the nearby Undara Experience.

Wildlife in Undara National Park

Sitting on the western slopes of the McBride Plateau, the national park is home to myriad wildlife species, including macropods like eastern grey and red kangaroos, black-striped and whiptail wallabies, antilopine and common wallaroos, and Mareeba rock-wallabies and swamp wallabies. Over 120 bird species are found at the park, including a variety of cockatoos and lorikeets, along with many lesser-known and less visible species, like the red goshawk, an endangered bird of prey.

As you’d expect of a complex cave system, the lava tubes support no less than four insectivorous bat species – the bent-wing, eastern cave, northern horseshoe bat and coastal sheath-tailed bat. The bat population across the caves that make up Undara is significant, with over 40,000 in Barkers Cave alone. This makes for an exceptional wildlife encounter that you can experience on the Wildlife at Sunset Tour with Undara Experience when thousands of microbats fly out of the lava tubes at dusk. This amazing adventure is often made all the more spectacular by snakes pouncing from the trees surrounding the caves to catch the bats mid-flight as they head out for their nightly feast of insects.

Accommodation - Undara & Mount Surprise

As Undara is best experienced at a leisurely pace that provides ample time to time to join a tour and experience the other natural treasures in the park, most visitors to Undara Volcanic National Park stay at least one night locally or a short drive away. Located at the entrance to the park, making it the most accessible Undara accommodation option, Undara Experience offers a range of accommodation options that cater to every budget and traveller type. These include a campground and caravan park, permanent tent accommodation and modern accommodation options with private bathrooms, with the restored rail carriages offering a unique stay during your time here.

A variety of accommodations are on offer at Mount Surprise, like the Mt Surprise Tourist Park Motel and Discovery Parks – Mount Surprise (formerly Bedrock Village) which offers camping, caravan and cabins. Mount Surprise is a tiny settlement boasting welcome sights for road-weary travellers – cafes, service stations and, most importantly, a pub – with its main attractions the heritage-listed Mount Surprise Railway Station and gem-fossicking experience Surprise Gems. This rural town is a popular stop on Savannah Way road trips traversing the Outback from Cairns to Broome in the Northern Territory and can be visited on a Savannahlander tour from Cairns and other destinations in the region.

Getting there and away

The drive from Cairns to Undara Volcanic National Park is just 3.5 hours, making it an easy day’s drive. But with so many attractions en route, this is a journey deserving of more time. Stretch it out over a few more days and experience natural wonders like the Atherton Tablelands, Lake Eacham, Curtain Fig, Mt Hypipamee Crater and Australia’s widest single-drop waterfall – Big Millstream Falls – along the way. Get the 4-day return road trip itinerary here.

Depending on the route taken, Undara Volcanic National Park is a three to four hours’ drive east of Cobbold Gorge. Another incredible Outback destination in North Queensland’s Gulf Savannah, Cobbold Gorge is a unique ancient geological landform with spectacular 30-foot cliffs and narrow sandstone formations that can be explored on foot but is best experienced on a guided tour. Tour options including electric powered boat and stand up paddle board. Cobbold Gorge closes each year between November and March for the summer season. Get the 48-hour itinerary here.

Inspired? Here’s how to visit Undara Volcanic National Park in four days.