Babinda Boulders Tours

Cairns Tours - Babinda Boulders

Cairns Tours & The Babinda Boulders

The Babinda Boulders are located south of Cairns City and is a great Half Day Tour option to enjoy combined with Josephine Falls and a knowledgable guide, or alternatively you can visit Babinda Boulders as a self drive option.

Just follow Mulgrave Road from Cairns city to the south and watch for the brown and white tourist signs that dot the roadsides.

You can take a guided day tour which includes the Waterfalls and Atherton Tablelands, the famous Curtain Fig Tree and uniqe crater lakes on the Atherton Tablelands. Another stop on the southern rainforest circuit is Paronella Park that holds not only natural beauty but the history of the region including the Mamu Aboriginal people.

For more information on which tours visit Babinda Boulders please contact The Tour Specialists or by Ph : 1300 761 612

The Babinda Boulders are truly a breathtaking sight that is steeped in a somewhat tragic history. Located in Wooroonooran National Park and nestled between two of Queensland's highest mountains – Mt Bartle Frere and Mt Bellenden Ker – the beauty and location of Babinda Boulders is sure to delight. Babinda Boulders are nestled amongst dense tropical rainforest that is home to a variety of butterflies and stunning birdlife.

As visitors wander along the easy walking path to Devils Pool, watch out for the flittering and fluttering of the iridescent Ulysses butterfly and the Green-Spotted Triangle butterflies that call Babinda Boulders home.

Devils Pool boasts a distinctive series of enormous boulders that have been worn smooth through eons of monsoonal rains and the fast flowing water of the river.

The water is crystal clear and pristine and flows from the surrounding rainforest clad mountains. The water feeds the surrounding forest jungle which creates a rich, vibrant oasis in the heart of Cairns Tropical North Queensland.

Be Careful When Swimming Babinda Boulders

The sapphire waters of Babinda Boulders are deceptive and have tragically claimed at least 15 lives in the last four decades. The sometimes fast flowing river is home to powerful undercurrents, an unusual contradiction to the stillness and tranquillity of the surrounding forest.

The fresh mountain water at Babinda Boulders is notoriously cold which allows a variety of unique plants to thrive, atypical of tropical rainforest environments.

The Legend of the Waters

Babinda Boulders holds a strong spiritual significance to indigenous Aboriginals. According to Australian Aboriginal legend a young man and woman from a permitted tribe married. Shortly after the marriage, another Aboriginal tribe moved to the Babinda region and the newly married woman fell in love with a handsome young tribesman.

The young lovers escaped their tribes and fled into the surrounding rainforest jungle. The tribal elders eventually captured them, but the woman broke free, hurtling herself in to the still river at Babinda Boulders, calling for her lover to follow. As her lover hit the water, the woman's cries of despair shook the land,causing boulders to fall into the river, and also causing the calm, still waters to become a fast flowing torrent.

Aboriginal legend says her spirit still guards the boulders and that her calls for her lost lover can still be heard. The Babinda Boulders are uniquely atmospheric and provide visitors with a glimpse into past.

A great self drive experience or join a full day tour of Atherton Tablelands and Paronella Park to see the full beauty of this region.

How To Get There

From Cairns head south down the Mulgrave Road which then becomes the Bruce Highway or the A1.

Turn off the Bruce Highway about 65 kilometres south of Cairns to the Babinda township. Upon reaching Babinda follow Munro Street through the middle of Babinda township and drive the seven kilometres down the Boulders road until you reach the carpark and picnic area.

Follow the signs and no littering please and no camping is permitted.

For tours of Atherton Tablelands and the waterfall circuits see these pages.

Great Barrier Reef Blog