Cape Tribulation: what to see, where to stay and how to get around
North of the Daintree River two World Heritage areas touch: the Wet Tropics rainforest runs straight down the mountains to beaches that face the Great Barrier Reef. This is the drive in from the ferry, about 35 km on a winding road with short walks along the way. Each boardwalk shows a different layer of the forest, from the canopy to the mangroves. Take it slowly; the road is narrow, and cassowaries cross it.
A short history of Cape Tribulation
On 10 June 1770 James Cook sailed past here in the Endeavour, and a few hours later the ship struck a reef. Cook named the cape "Cape Tribulation" because, he said, this was where all his troubles began. The area is the country of the Kuku Yalanji people, and its forest, the Daintree rainforest, is one of the oldest in the world. In 1983–1984 protesters fought the building of a road through the forest, and the struggle led in 1988 to the Wet Tropics of Queensland being declared a World Heritage Site. It is the only place in the world where two World Heritage Sites, the forest and the reef, meet.
The ten best sights in Cape Tribulation
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1Cape Tribulation
The beach where the rainforest touches the sand; come at low tide for the long walk
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2Kulki Lookout
Five minutes on a boardwalk to the classic view of the cape; crocodiles use this beach too
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3Dubuji Boardwalk
A flat 1.2 km loop through fan palms and mangroves — the best walk on a rainy day
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4Mount Sorrow
A steep, hard ridge climb; rangers ask walkers to start before 10 am and carry plenty of water
5Jindalba BoardwalkAn easy loop behind the Discovery Centre; look for the strange fruit on the forest floor but don't touch
6Daintree Discovery CentreThe best first stop: an aerial walkway and canopy tower explain what you'll see for days
7Walu Wugirriga (Alexandra Range) LookoutThe view over the river mouth to the sea, ten minutes after the ferry
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8Cow Bay
A quiet beach and the area where cassowaries cross most often — slow down for the signs
9Thornton BeachThe one beach where the road runs right along the sand; stop for a quick look
10Mason's Swimming HoleA clear creek pool behind Mason's café, fresh water and shade
Scan with your phone camera to open the map there
What is an audio walk?
Tours in Cape Tribulation →A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Cape Tribulation:
Free walking tours in Cape Tribulation
Where the rainforest meets the reef
North of the Daintree River two World Heritage areas touch: the Wet Tropics rainforest runs straight down the mountains to beaches that face the Great Barrier Reef. This is the drive in from the ferry, about 35 km on a winding road with short walks along the way. Each boardwalk shows a different layer of the forest, from the canopy to the mangroves. Take it slowly; the road is narrow, and cassowaries cross it.
- Walu Wugirriga Lookout · The lookout carries its Kuku Yalanji name as well as the English one, because this is the Country of the Eastern Kuku Yalanji. From here you see the mouth of the Daintree River and, offshore, Snapper Island.
- Daintree Discovery Centre · The Daintree is often called the oldest tropical rainforest on Earth, with plant lineages going back more than 100 million years — far older than the Amazon. Its canopy tower lets you climb through each layer of that forest to above the treetops.
- Jindalba Boardwalk · These lowland forests hold the idiot fruit, one of the most primitive flowering plants alive. Botanists had lost track of it for decades, and it was rediscovered in the 1970s when cattle died after eating its poisonous seeds.
- Thornton Beach · Behind the beach rises Thornton Peak, one of the highest mountains in Queensland, often hidden in cloud. Rain falling on these peaks is what feeds the creeks you cross all the way to the cape.
- Kulki Lookout · Since 1988 the forest behind you has been part of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, and the reef in front of you has been listed since 1981. This is one of very few places on Earth where two World Heritage sites meet.
- Cape Tribulation · James Cook named the cape in June 1770, after the Endeavour struck a reef offshore that night — "because here began all our troubles". He also named Mount Sorrow behind it, and the ship limped north to be repaired at what is now Cooktown.
River, cassowaries and the farm gates
South of the cape the forest is broken by small farms growing tropical fruit and tea, and the river is full of crocodiles. This route is for the animals and the tastes of the Daintree: an early croc cruise from the village, the ferry, the cassowary country of Cow Bay, and two farm gates on the way back. Start at dawn on the river, when the light is soft and the crocs are on the banks. It makes a relaxed half day.
- Daintree Village · The village began as a timber camp in the 1870s, when cutters came for the red cedar along the river. The river and the forest take their name from Richard Daintree, a geologist, given by the explorer George Dalrymple in 1873.
- Solar Whisper · Saltwater crocodiles are the largest living reptiles, and a resting croc can stay underwater for an hour or more. The boat runs on solar-charged electric motors, so it can glide up to them in near silence.
- Daintree River Ferry · The ferry pulls itself across on steel cables rather than sailing, so it keeps a straight line against the current. Locals have argued for decades over a bridge, and so far the river has stayed unbridged, a natural brake on development.
- Cow Bay · The southern cassowary is a key gardener of this forest, spreading the seeds of more than 200 plants, some of which barely sprout unless they have passed through the bird. It is the father who sits on the eggs and raises the striped chicks alone.
- Daintree Ice Cream Company · The orchard behind the shop grows tropical fruits such as black sapote, mangosteen and soursop, and the ice cream is made only from what is in season. That is why there is no choice: everyone gets the same cup of four flavours.
- Daintree Tea · Tea plants need warm, wet weather and good drainage, and the slopes at the edge of the Daintree have all three. The plantation sits on cleared farmland, and its tea is sold as grown in the rainforest's own rain.
The end of the road
Cape Tribulation is the last stop for ordinary cars: a few kilometres north the bitumen ends and the 4WD Bloomfield Track begins. This route stays around the cape for a full active day — a canopy zipline, a mangrove boardwalk, a swim in a croc-free creek, the hard climb up Mount Sorrow — and then, with a 4WD, pushes on to the falls of Wujal Wujal. Do the climb in the morning and the water in the afternoon heat. Without a 4WD, stop at Emmagen Creek.
- Jungle Surfing Canopy Tours · Most of the life in a rainforest lives high in the canopy, where the leaves get the sun, and not on the dark floor. The zipline platforms put you up there, among the epiphytes, ferns and orchids that grow on the branches.
- Dubuji Boardwalk · The tall palms with round, pleated leaves are fan palms, Licuala ramsayi, which grow wild only in the wet tropics of north Queensland. A single leaf can be well over a metre across.
- Mason's Swimming Hole · The pool is fed by clear water running off the mountains through the forest, and it is full of jungle perch, a native fish that swims right up to swimmers. In a region where most creeks hold crocodiles, it is one of the few places locals swim.
- Mount Sorrow · The ridge trail climbs steeply for 3.5 km to a lookout about 680 metres above the sea, over the cape and the reef, with almost no flat sections. Cook named the mountain after the same night of trouble as the cape below it.
- Emmagen Creek · In 1983 hundreds of protesters blockaded the bulldozers building the Bloomfield Track north from here, and dozens were arrested. The road went through, but the fight helped bring the Wet Tropics onto the World Heritage list in 1988.
- Bloomfield Falls · The falls are on the Country of the Kuku Yalanji people of Wujal Wujal, and are a place of cultural importance to them. Visits are made with local Aboriginal guides, who explain the bush foods and stories of the river.
Getting to Cape Tribulation and getting around
- Daintree River Ferry · The only road link north — no bridge, so queues build late morning; cross early or after 3 pm
- Mossman Gorge Centre shuttle · Cars stop at the centre and a shuttle bus runs into the gorge — an easy morning on the way up
Cheap eats in Cape Tribulation
North of the river there are no supermarkets and only a handful of cafés, most of them attached to a lodge, a store or a fruit farm. What grows here is the reason to eat: exotic fruit — black sapote, mangosteen, soursop, rambutan — turned into ice cream and smoothies, and barramundi from the north. Stock up in Mossman or Port Douglas, and expect to pay a little more for everything beyond the ferry.
- Mason's Café · Burgers and cold drinks by the creek, about A$15-25
- Daintree Ice Cream Company · A cup of four fruit flavours of the day, about A$8-10
- Floravilla Ice Cream · Ice cream and coffee in a garden at Cow Bay, about A$6-14
- Turtle Rock Café · Sandwiches, smoothies and coffee in the Cape Trib village, about A$8-20
- The Big Barramundi Garden · Barramundi burgers and fruit smoothies in the village, about A$12-25
- Croc Xpresso Café · Coffee and breakfast in Daintree Village before the cruise, about A$6-18
- Daintree Village General Store · Snacks, drinks and basics before the river cruise, about A$4-12
Museums in Cape Tribulation
- Daintree Discovery Centre · The forest explained, from floor to canopy; give it two hours
- Mossman Gorge Centre · Indigenous-run centre with a gallery and Dreamtime walks
- Janbal Gallery · Kuku Yalanji art in Mossman, on the way up
- Bloomfield Falls · Aboriginal-guided walks; 4WD only
Nature and day trips near Cape Tribulation
- Mount Sorrow Ridge · The hard climb to a view over cape and reef; start before 10 am
- Dubuji Boardwalk · Fan palms and mangroves on a flat loop
- Jindalba Boardwalk · Lowland rainforest and ancient plants
- Walu Wugirriga Lookout · Over the river mouth to the reef
- Cape Tribulation Beach · Long low-tide walks; no swimming
- Cooper Creek · Small-boat wildlife cruises up a rainforest creek
Things to do in Cape Tribulation with kids
- Daintree Ice Cream Company · Four mystery fruit flavours, and a walk in the orchard
- Jungle Surfing · Ziplines over the rainforest
- Daintree Discovery Centre · Climb the canopy tower; there's a kids' activity trail
- Croc cruise · An hour spotting crocs on the river
- Mason's Swimming Hole · Fish swim around you in clear water
Where to eat in Cape Tribulation
- Whet Café Restaurant · Dinner in the forest at Cape Trib; book in the dry season
- Cape Tribulation Beach House · Open-air restaurant and bar a few steps from the beach
- PK's Jungle Village · Backpackers' bar with pizza and cold beer
- Cow Bay Hotel · Country pub meals in the forest at Cow Bay
Frequently asked questions about Cape Tribulation
What is there to see in Cape Tribulation?
The top sights in Cape Tribulation are Cape Tribulation, Kulki Lookout and Dubuji Boardwalk. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.
How many days do you need in Cape Tribulation?
Three to four days are enough to see the best of Cape Tribulation without rushing, including at least one walking tour.
Is there a free walking tour in Cape Tribulation?
Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Cape Tribulation, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: Where the rainforest meets the reef.
How do you get to Cape Tribulation and get around?
The main ways are Daintree River Ferry and Mossman Gorge Centre shuttle. Full details are in the transport section on this page.
Where to stay in Cape Tribulation, and for how much?
sleepntrip shows only rooms in Cape Tribulation that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.
Looking for a hotel in Cape Tribulation for your dates?
Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.