Guide To Visiting The Daintree Rainforest + Things To Do

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The Daintree Rainforest is a world-heritage-listed rainforest in Tropical Far North Queensland. In fact, it’s the oldest rainforest in the world.

We first visited The Daintree during our 18-month road trip around Australia with our kids, and that experience left us longing for more.

Although many people pass by the Daintree as they travel from Cairns to Cape Tribulation, a visit to this ancient rainforest should not go amiss. With snaking vines and rich, green canopies, the sounds of birds and insects thriving and the trickle of waterfalls and rivers flowing, this is truly a nature lover’s dream come true.

I have no hesitation in listing this ancient and magical rainforest in Tropical North Queensland in our top three places in Australia.

There is no place like it in Australia, possibly the world. But if you’re not sure how to visit the Daintree or what things there are to do, then read on to find out!

What Is the Daintree Rainforest?

The Daintree is estimated to be over 180 million years old and is the largest continuous area of tropical rainforest (1,200 square kilometres to be exact) on the Australian continent and the oldest living rainforest on earth – even pre-dating the Amazon Rainforest.

Its traditional owners are the Kuku Yalanji people, an aboriginal people tribe, and it resides in the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area in North Queensland.

What else makes it unique? It’s the only place in the world where two World Heritage sites collide, the Daintree Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef.

It’s also home to a huge diversity of wildlife, including 12,000 species of insect, 30% of Australia’s frog population, and 65% of butterfly species and bats.

You will also find hundreds of bird species, reptiles such as boyd’s forest dragon, and other marsupial species such as Koalas and ring-tailed possums, and of course, saltwater crocodiles.

It also has a rich population of plant species. Australia has 36 mangrove species, and 28 are found in the Daintree region. Not to mention the many flowering plants.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, how can something so old be so beautiful?

The beauty of the Daintree National Park not only lies with its flora and fauna, its mystery and history, but it’s a place you can escape to, where…