Wet Tropics Rainforest

The World Heritage-listed rainforests surrounds Cairns in all directions and can be easily accessed and experienced in many ways. Join one of the many tour operators that conduct day and overnight tours into the rainforest or by car at your leisure.

Be enchanted by the beauty, life and tranquillity of Earth's oldest surviving tropical rainforests and enjoy a truly sustainable eco holiday experience in Cairns and Great Barrier Reef. Over 79 percent of land in Cairns and Great Barrier Reef is protected including areas in the Daintree and Cape Tribulation rainforests to the north, the tropical Atherton Tablelands to the west, and Mission Beach to the south.

There are many diverse way to experience the rainforest:

Swim, paddle and explore crystal-clear rivers, volcanic lakes, and spectacular waterfalls surrounded by Wet Tropics rainforests on the tropical Atherton Tablelands, a short drive west of Cairns. Or journey a little further south towards Mission Beach and you might come face-to-face with an endangered Southern Cassowary, whose numbers are fewer in the wild than the Giant Panda, but whose existence is vital to over 120 different species of plants and wildlife. Or head north and visit the Daintree and Cape Tribulation, home of the oldest tropical rainforest on earth and the only place on the planet where World Heritage-listed Daintree rainforest meets the Great Barrier Reef.

Go wild in Cairns and Great Barrier Reef with many chances to get up close to over 6000 species of wild animals, endangered animals, rainforest animals and birds living around the region.

Wildlife...home to over 3000 species of animals and plants, wildlife spotting is one of the Daintree and Cape Tribulations biggest draw cards.

Bird watching... Daintree and Cape Tribulation is a true bird watching paradise. See Macleay's Honeyeater, Pied Monarch, Victoria's Riflebird, Great-billed Herons, Little Kingfishers, Lovely Fairy-wrens, Double-eyed Fig Parrots, the endangered Southern Cassowary and many more!