mountain pass
Kuranda Range Road
Winding climb on the Kennedy Highway from Cairns up the Macalister Range to Kuranda, with rainforest lookouts over the coastal plain.
14 km · about 25 min drive
OceaniaAustraliaQueensland
Cairns
Queensland, Australia · Oceania
About Cairns
Cairns is worth a stop: 45km from Curtain Fig Tree.
Cairns is in Queensland, Australia, with about 150,000 people. You drive on the left here.
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Explore the Area
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is there to see near Cairns?
Within an hour or so of Cairns: Kuranda Range Road (14 km), Captain Cook Highway (39 km), Curtain Fig Tree (45 km), Josephine Falls (57 km).
Are there any good drives near Cairns?
The nearest famous roads are Kuranda Range Road and Captain Cook Highway.
Where is Cairns?
Cairns is in Queensland, Australia.
Road trip
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Quick Information
- Population
- 153,075
- Continent
- Oceania
- Country
- Australia
- Region
- Queensland
- Timezone
- Australia/Brisbane
- Coordinates
- -16.9237, 145.7661
Emergency & Services
Essential numbers in Australia
112 works from mobiles. Distances between fuel stops in the outback can exceed 200 km: plan ahead. Wildlife is most active at dawn/dusk.
Full driving guide for AustraliaTags
Worth the detour from Cairns
4 notable places within an hour's drive.
coastal drive
Captain Cook Highway
The 75 km Cairns-to-Port Douglas run where rainforest meets reef: palm-fringed bays, Rex Lookout's Coral Sea panorama, and beaches lapping right at the roadside.
39 km · about 45 min drive
natural wonder
Curtain Fig Tree
A strangler fig near Yungaburra whose host tree fell into a neighbour, leaving a 15-metre curtain of aerial roots hanging vertically to the forest floor. A boardwalk loops it in ten minutes.
45 km · about 50 min drive
waterfall
Josephine Falls
Granite waterslides on the slopes of Queensland's highest mountain, where Josephine Creek pours over smooth boulders into a swimming pool. A 600-metre sealed walk from the car park south of Cairns.
57 km · about 65 min drive
Driving roads near Cairns
- Right hereKuranda Range RoadWinding climb on the Kennedy Highway from Cairns up the Macalister Range to Kuranda, with rainforest lookouts over the coastal plain.
- 39 kmCaptain Cook HighwayThe 75 km Cairns-to-Port Douglas run where rainforest meets reef: palm-fringed bays, Rex Lookout's Coral Sea panorama, and beaches lapping right at the roadside.
When to drive here
Year-round
Tropical latitude: plan around the wet season rather than temperature.
Nearby Destinations
Other places to explore near Cairns.
No nearby destinations found within 200 km.
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