Daintree Rainforest

What It Is and Where

The Daintree covers about 1,200 square kilometers within the wider Wet Tropics, Australia's largest continuous area of tropical rainforest. On 29 September 2021, the Eastern Kuku Yalanji people received formal ownership of about 160,213 hectares from Mossman to Cooktown, including Daintree National Park, which they now manage jointly with the Queensland Government. North of the river, a cable ferry is the only way across, running from 5 am to midnight every day.

What You Do There

• Walk with an Aboriginal guide at Mossman Gorge, at the southern end of the Daintree
• Take a river cruise on the Daintree River to look for saltwater crocodiles and birds
• Drive north to Cape Tribulation for rainforest boardwalks and empty beaches
• Combine a day on the outer reef from Port Douglas

Look out for the electric blue Ulysses butterfly, and watch for cassowaries on quiet roads and walks. Sightings are never guaranteed, and never approach or feed one.

Best Time to Go

The drier, cooler months from about May to September are the most comfortable, with lower humidity and easier walking. The wet season, roughly December to March, brings heavy rain, heat and the occasional cyclone, but also full rivers and the forest at its most alive. Stinger season on the nearby coast runs from about late October to May.

Getting There and How Long to Stay

Fly to Cairns, then drive about an hour to Port Douglas or Mossman. Cape Tribulation is two to two and a half hours from Cairns. Two or three nights in the Daintree is right, paired with time on the reef.

Where We Like to Stay

Silky Oaks Lodge puts you in the rainforest canopy above the Mossman River, close to the Daintree and a short drive from the reef boats at Port Douglas. It suits couples and families who want rainforest and reef in one stay.

Read more in Australia: Reefs, Red Desert, and Otherworldly Wilderness and Why Australia Is Worth the Flight, and see our page on the Great Barrier Reef.