kuranda
Kuranda
Kuranda is a small picturesque town in the Shire of Mareeba on the Tablelands. It is situated at the top of the Kuranda Range, a road connecting Cairns to the Tablelands. This rainforesty town is the perfect place for a day visit as there are so many interesting sights, tours, and artisan based markets to explore. Whether you’re travelling alone or with the family, we can guarantee you’ll want to see this place.
For more information on Kuranda visit the official Kuranda information website
Behind the tourism hype
‘Behind the tourism hype’ is our way of giving you a bit of locals advice to balance out the sometimes exaggerated or misleading advertising generally thrown in tourist’s faces. As much as we absolutely recommend you visit this town, here’s just a couple of things to know before travelling there.
- This small town only operates at it’s peak for a few hours a day. It’s generally advertised that the town runs from 10am-3pm. However, don’t expect the majority of your markets and shops to open completely until 12pm. Kuranda shopping is very market based as it plays a large part of the attraction to the town. For that reason, if you’d like to make a full day of it, plan your other activities earlier (if they’re open) and head back to the markets around lunch time. There’s plenty to see!
- Once you’ve spent a whole day in Kuranda doing all the activities and seeing the sights, you’ll check it off your bucket list and move on. If you’re spending a week up there or plan to visit Kuranda more than once, then we strongly advise limiting the things you do up there so that you can experience something new each time you visit. We say this because it is very easy to experience all of what Kuranda has to offer within one day. As great of an experience it is, unfortunately it doesn’t seem to change (from a visitor/tourist’s point of view). There’s very rarely any rotation in the market stalls and the other attractions don’t change much either. Therefore, due to the lack of updates, variety or changes in the local tourist attractions, we believe it would just feel like Ground hog day if you were to do it all again the following year.
- Make sure you visit the Barron Falls at the right time. For the falls to have as much water gushing over them as you’d see on the brochures or tourism photos, there needs to be A LOT of rain and honestly sometimes a whole wet season isn’t enough to get those falls gushing to the expectations of tourists. You will still see a large waterfall there however, a more realistic expectation would be to see small flowing streams over the gorge. Please also keep in mind that you can only view the falls from a distance whether you’re at the sight seeing location in Kuranda, the walking trail or the Skyrail carts over the top. There is no swimming at these falls.
kuranda’s top tourist attractions
For stress-free campsite set-ups contact us here
KICBACK CAMPING’S CAMPSITE SET-UPS
To experience the Cairns to Kuranda Skyrail
To take a scenic route of the Cairns to Kuranda Scenic Rail
To immerse yourself in rich indigenous culture
To cuddle the koalas and get up close with other native animals
Campgrounds in and around Kuranda
**For stress-free campsite set-ups at any of the following campgrounds
Kuranda Rainforest Accommodation Park (4mins from town centre)
The Billabong, Kuranda (8mins from town centre)
Interested in a stress free campsite set-up in kuranda?
You choose the location, we’ll provide the equipment and set up your campsite, ready for your arrival!
Kuranda snap shots
Shop for gifts and souvenirs at the popular Rainforest and Heritage Markets. See a large display of local artisan (handmade) products
Get up close with native Australian animals, birds and butterflies. Get your picture taken too!
Explore the culture and witness breathtaking landscapes
