Kuranda is a lovely rainforest village inland from Cairns in Far North Queensland. It is mostly famous for its colourful markets, but there is also a lot of wildlife to see, and being in the tropical rainforest, it is an excellent place to discover the rainforest plants and animals. You can get there from Cairns with the scenic Kuranda Railway and back with the Kuranda Sky Rail. In the end of the skyrail trip is the famous Tjapukai Cultural Park. Here is some information about Kuranda, Tjapukai by night, and in the end of this page is accommodation and a Kuranda map.
Custom Search
Kuranda Scenic Train. Courtesy of Tourism Queensland
Central Kuranda Australia As you walk from the train station, you’ll turn onto Kuranda’s main street – Coondoo Street, which is lined by small shops and eateries, and in the end of the street you have the tourist information centre. South of it across the street is Kuranda Wildlife Noctarium where you can see nocturnal rainforest animals such as fruit bats, sugar gliders and many more animal species that are hard to see in the wild because they are active during the night.
Courtesy of Tourism Queensland
Kuranda Markets - Kuranda Australia On the other side, north of the tourist information centre are the famous Kuranda Heritage Markets– the main reason for many people to visit Kuranda. They are very nice colourful markets that besides the usual arrangement of souvenirs also sell art, clothes, jewellery and local food. It’s a great place to have a lunch and spend a half a day. The markets are open every Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday and liveliest in the mornings.
Courtesy of Tourism Queensland
Birdworld and Australian Butterfly Sanctuary Kuranda Here are also the Birdworld and Kuranda Butterfly Sanctuary. In the Birdworld you can see many species of parrots, cockatoos and other Australian birds, both native and exotic. Because you’re inside the closure with them, you can get really close to them and take some good photos. Kuranda Butterfly Sanctuary is probably the best place in Australia to get close to Australian amazing butterflies, including the famous Ulysses, and Cairns Birdwing – Australia’s largest butterfly.
Butterfly Sanctuary. Courtesy of Tourism Queensland
Original Kuranda Markets and the Aviary Across the street from the Heritage Markets are the Original Kuranda Markets, and the Aviary, where there are more parrots and other Australian bird species. There are walking tracks from here through the lush rainforest of the Jumrum Creek Environmental Park and a few lookouts over some lovely waterfalls.
Kuranda Area Hotels - Kuranda Australia If you choose to stay in Kuranda over the night, there are Cedar Park Rainforest Resort, Fairyland Guesthouse, Kuranda Backpacker Hostel, Kuranda Bed & Breakfast, Kuranda Fog Hollow River Retreat, Kuranda Hotel Motel and Kuranda Resort.
Rainforestation Nature Park - Kuranda Australia Out of the town, towards the Kennedy Highway that goes to Cairns is the Rainforestation Nature Park, where there are more rainforest animals. There is a koala & wildlife park and some rainforest tours with Army Ducks, a tropical fruit orchard, and you can learn boomerang and spear throwing with Pamagirri Aboriginal people, and enjoy all kinds of tropical products at the park’s two restaurants.
Rainforest. Courtesy of Tourism Queensland
Kuranda Railway and Kuranda Sky Rail If you bought a package of the Scenic Kuranda Railway, Skyrail and the Tjapukai Cultural Park, you are going to catch the Kuranda Sky Rail back to north Cairns. It is a great ride across the Great Dividing Range and its rainforested mountains, with some excellent views and photo opportunities. You can of course still catch the Skyrail and visit Tjapukai even if you didn’t buy a package, but the package is cheaper.
Skyrail. Courtesy of Tourism Queensland
Tjapukai Cultural Park and Tjapukai by Night Once back in Smithfield in north Cairns, Tjapukai Cultural Park is probably the best place in Australia to experience Aboriginal Culture. This most successful Aboriginal company was established in 1987 and has since been performing at numerous Expos, on Australia Week in Los Angeles, and for Queen Elisabeth II; got a huge amount of awards, made their own documentaries, toured numerous countries on at least four continents and lately moved into this $9 million park that you can visit today.
Courtesy of Tourism Queensland
Tjapukai Cultural Park and Tjapukai by Night You can visit a traditional camp and learn about bush tucker and medicine, and learn didgeridoo playing and boomerang and spear throwing. You can watch Tjapukai dancers and different performances in the Tjapukai Dance Theatre, History Theatre, Creation Theatre and the Magic Space. You can have a meal at the Boomerang Restaurant and there are shops in the Retail Gallery. Since 2002 the park is even open during the night when you can watch the evening shows and have a dinner. Tjapukai is a great experience that fully deserves to be world famous.
Here's a map of Kuranda Australia, where I have tagged the places that I mentioned on this web page. You can click on the tags to see what places they are, and double-click anywhere on the map to zoom it in and see the places closer. Drag the map to move around, and if you want to see the satellite image with Google Earth, click on "Sat" in the top right hand corner.
NOTE: This website is written in British English, which is the English we use in Australia. You will find words like "traveller", "harbour" and "realise", and they are all correct in the language used in Australia.
