Kuranda Village

Everyone we met suggested seeing the picturesque mountain retreat of Kuranda Village. It is only 25km northwest of Cairns in Northern Queensland. World Heritage Rainforest surrounds the town, so we thought we’d give it a shot.

We caught the Historic Scenic Railway up to Kuranda Village at $40 per adult. Return fare in 2022 is now $76. which winds through the Kuranda Range, and we came back over the rainforest on the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway.

The original Kuranda Scenic Railway partly travels through rainforest, steep ravines and waterfalls. The waterfall picture was taken after the summer rains. When we went through, there was only a tiny amount of water and not so picturesque. The railway winds its way on a journey taking about 1 hour 45 minutes from Cairns to Kuranda, and for much of the time, you suck in the diesel fumes spewed out by the loco. As a result, I arrived at Kuranda feeling a little queasy.

Kuranda Village

As we descended at Kuranda, we were met by spruikers from the local hotel waving their arms and trying to sell ‘mango crushes’ or beer. The town opens its doors when the tourists get off the train around 10 am and then shuts shop at about 3 pm when they all leave. Kuranda was a disappointing tourist trap that sold a bunch of trinkety crap. Apart from the Arts Cooperative and a couple of other galleries, the town markets are flooded with cheap Asian goods that you can buy anywhere.

Australian Butterfly Sanctuary

The Australian Butterfly Sanctuary is one place worth visiting if in Kuranda Village. It is the largest butterfly flight aviary in Australia. With 3,666 cubic metres of aviary and home to over 1,500 tropical butterflies. All hand-reared on the premises. They are all local rainforest species, including the electric blue Ulysses and the majestic fluoro green Cairns Birdwing. The Birdwings eat about 5 kilometres of the Aristolochia vine per year, and the facility breeds approximately 30,000 caterpillars yearly. At $16 ($20.50 in 2022) pop for entry, it is not cheap, but worth it.

Skyrail

The trip back on the Skyrail was the highlight of the day. Spanning 7.5km, Skyrail Rainforest Cableway traverses the McAlister Range through the Barron Gorge National Park. An exciting journey between Caravonica and Kuranda Terminals.

You glide a few metres above the rainforest canopy in a six-person gondola cabin, which provides uninterrupted views of the rainforest, Cairns, and even out to the Coral Sea. It has two stops to get off and walk amongst the rainforest. Voted Australia’s Best Major Tourist Attraction it does provide a truly unique rainforest experience available nowhere else in the world.

Kuranda Skyrail River crossing Skyrail’s Caravonica Terminal is about 15 minutes from Cairns city. Port Douglas about 50 minutes North of Skyrail. Regular coach transfer pick-ups service both locations. We drove and found Skyrail’s area easily accessible. The cost is $40 one way ($59.00 in 2022). Had we known, we would have gone up and back to Kuranda Village on the Skyrail. It was a lovely area and well worth checking out.