Daintree National Park

Daintree National Park (CYPAL) protects two sections of one of the oldest continually surviving rainforests on Earth, on the coastal ranges between the Daintree River and the Bloomfield River. The Eastern Kuku Yalanji Aboriginal people are its Traditional Owners, and Wundu (Thornton Peak), Manjal Dimbi (Mount Demi), Wurrmbu (The Bluff) and Kulki (Cape Tribulation) are named sacred features of their country. The park sits inside the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, proclaimed in 1988 and stretching about 450 km from Cooktown to Townsville.

Mossman Gorge, about 80 km north of Cairns, is where the Mossman River has cut a steep-sided valley among granite boulders washed down by floods; Cape Tribulation, roughly 140 km north of Cairns, is a narrow strip of park running 38 km from the Daintree River ferry to the coast, where rainforest stands on the sand beside the Great Barrier Reef. Between them sit short boardwalks at Jindalba, Marrdja and Dubuji, full-day Grade 4 ridge walks, a 2-metre southern cassowary (kurranji) on the roadside, and a cable ferry that is the only way across the river.

What to expect

Reviewed 8 November 2026

You come into the park from the south on the Captain Cook Highway: about 80km from Cairns to the Mossman Gorge turn-off, and roughly 140km and 2.5 hours to Cape Tribulation on the far side of the river. The only crossing of the Daintree River is the cable ferry, which runs 5am to midnight daily with reduced service on Christmas Day, takes about 15 minutes including loading and unloading, and stops occasionally for mechanical repairs or flooding. There is no bridge and no alternative road from the south, and queues build in school holidays. The road north of the ferry is sealed and fine in an ordinary 2WD car, but it is narrow and winding — keep left and slow for cassowaries on the shoulder. Caravans are not recommended north of the river, and the Cape Tribulation–Bloomfield road beyond the village is unsealed, steep and crossed by creeks, 4WD only and off-limits to most hire cars.

Mossman Gorge is the southern section, reached on Johnston Road 2km off the Captain Cook Highway at Mossman. A shuttle runs from the Mossman Gorge Centre every 15 minutes between 8am and 5.45pm and a fee applies, but you can walk or cycle the 2km road in free at any time. From the shuttle stop car park the Baral Marrjanga track climbs on an elevated boardwalk to a lookout over the Mossman River — 660m return, 30 minutes, Grade 1, and accessible to wheelchairs, prams and walkers with vision impairment. The Lower river track drops to riverside lookouts over the boulders (640m return, 40 minutes, Grade 2, with steps and handrails), and the Rex Creek bridge track crosses a suspension bridge to the rainforest circuit intersection.

North of the ferry the Cape Tribulation section runs about 38km along the coast in a narrow strip of roughly 17,000 hectares between the Daintree River and the Bloomfield River, backed by the McDowall Range. Cape Tribulation village, Cow Bay and the beach settlements sit inside the forest, with fuel and supplies at the village and at Rainforest Village, 34km from the ferry. Noah Beach camping area is 28km north of the ferry and 5.8km south of Cape Tribulation village — 15 numbered sites under forest canopy 50m from the sand. This is one of Australia's last extensive stands of lowland rainforest, tall and dense near the coast and stunted and windswept on the exposed summits.

The short walks are what most people remember. Jindalba boardwalk is 650m return in about 45 minutes on Grade 2 track from Tulip Oak Road, 10km north of the ferry and 2km past the Mount Alexandra lookout; the name means 'foot of the mountain', and the loop sits under the slopes of Mount Alexandra among ancient king ferns, where buff-breasted paradise kingfishers stream through the canopy in the wet season. The Jindalba circuit track continues 3km and 1.5 hours at Grade 4, crossing several rainforest creeks at the base of the mountain. Marrdja and Dubuji are both 1.2km circuits of about 45 minutes at Grade 1; Dubuji starts and finishes 300m apart near Myall Beach, 34km north of the ferry, and Kulki boardwalk is 600m return in 10 minutes to the point where the rainforest-clad ranges drop to the sand. Stay on the boards at all times — shortcuts damage vegetation and cause erosion — and carry every scrap of rubbish out with you, because bins are not provided anywhere in the park.

Wildlife is the reason many people stay a second night. The southern cassowary (kurranji) stands about 2m tall and is endangered, and it regenerates the forest by carrying seeds no other animal can disperse; slow down on Cape Tribulation Road, watch for birds and chicks on the shoulder, stay well back and never feed them. Tree-kangaroos, musky rat-kangaroos, Australian brush-turkeys and Boyd's forest dragon are all regular sightings, the Daintree River ringtail possum lives nowhere else on Earth, and azure kingfishers work the shallow pools. Hazards run alongside the wildlife: saltwater crocodiles inhabit the rivers, creeks and beaches, marine stingers are present in the warmer months, so swim only where a sign says it is safe. Mobile reception is limited to roughly 5km around Cape Tribulation village, so download maps before the ferry and carry 3 to 4 litres of water per person on the Grade 4 trails.