Cairns
Cairns, considered the gateway to Australia's Great Barrier Reef, is a city in the tropical area of North Queensland. Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park tells the story of indigenous Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through music and dance. Cairns' waterfront, lined with bars and restaurants, has a saltwater lagoon suitable for swimming. To the northwest of the city, Daintree National Park encompasses mountainous rainforest, gorges and beaches.
Tourist routes to Cooktown, Cape York Peninsula and the Atherton Plateau often begin from Cairns.
The city is named after William Wellington Cairns, former Governor of Queensland and founder of the city. It became a major port for the export of sugar cane, gold, metals, minerals and agricultural products from the surrounding and coastal areas of the Atherton Plateau region. Currently, tourism plays an important role in the city's economy, attracting many tourists due to its tropical climate and the large number of activities that can be done in the city.
What should we not leave behind? to see in Cairns?:
- Great Barrier Reef: It is the largest coral reef in the world, located in the Coral Sea, opposite to the coast of Queensland.
- Michelmas Cay: It is a National Park recognized as one of the most important places for breeding seabirds in the Great Barrier Reef. The small, vegetated cay is an ideal habitat for thousands of land-nesting seabirds. In the middle of the nesting and breeding season (summer months), up to 20,000 birds have been observed.
- Daintree Tropical Forest: It is a mandatory destination to see in Cairns for nature lovers. It is more than 135 years old, making it the oldest tropical forest on the planet and home to the largest population of plants and animals that exists in the world. This space is not only filled with trees and animals; but there are also beaches that take anyone's breath away.
- Skyrail Rainforest Cableway: Inaugurated in 1994, this 7, 5 kilometers long connects the city of Cairns with the city of Kurunda and takes a tour of the impressive Australian rainforest of more than 135 million years old, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
- Koala Kuranda Gardens: It is a colony mainly of koalas and a variety of wildlife native to Australia. Snakes, lizards, birds, crocodiles, marsupials and many more species live within the park.
- Kuranda Scenic Train: This engineering project was inaugurated in 1891 due to the need to connect the mining town of Heberton with civilization, but today, it has become an essential attraction for visitors who come to the city. The hour and a half long, 34 kilometer journey begins at Cairns Central Station and ends at Kurunda Train Station, combining perfect engineering with impressive natural landscapes.
- Green Island in Cairns: This coral cay is one of the destinations to see in Cairns. More than 6,000 years old, this small island located in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. To get to it, you have to take a boat trip. It has white sand beaches and crystal clear waters where you can meet marine life by swimming, diving or walking underwater using a diving helmet.
