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About Cairns Highlands - Accommodation - Tours & what to do - Transport & car hire - Photos - Map Atherton Tablelands / Cairns Highlands![]() The Millaa Millaa Falls, one of the many spectacular waterfalls in the Cairns Highlands
The Cairns Highlands are a fertile plateau which is part of the Great Dividing Range, a mountain range that runs along the coast of Queensland. Although the area has no sharply defined boundaries it is considered to be around 32,000 km² in size and incorporates the towns of Atherton, Dimbulah, Herberton, Kairi, Kuranda, Mareeba, Malanda, Millaa Millaa, Mutchilba, Ravenshoe, Tinaroo, Tolga, Walkamin and the most famous of all; Yungaburra. The fertile volcanic soil and high elevation of this
area that ranges from 600 to 900 metres and they provide excellent
conditions for agriculture and dairy farming, especially Malanda
is famous for its cheese, milk and other dairy products. Click this banner to compare prices of a wide range of Cairns Highlands accommodation from holiday homes to motels: AthertonThis is the town that this whole area was named after,
it is now a thriving business centre for the farming district. World War 2 changed Atherton when the population from the coast
found this a safer place, and the army set up their facilities in
this area. Crops grown in and around Atherton include banana, sugarcane,
corn/maize, avocados, strawberries, macadamia nuts and mangoes and
citrus. Tobacco was also grown for many years. Malanda
Malanda is a medium-sized town that is nowadays well known for
its dairy industry of milk and cheese, but it was first developed
in the 1880s when the discovery of tin and copper at Herberton saw
a steady stream of miners and engineers moving over the mountains
from the coast. In 1886 a decision was made to bring a railway into
the area but the problems of construction were enormous and it did
not reach Malanda until 1911 and closed again in 1964. Kuranda Kuranda is a thriving tourist town of around 650 people that swells
to a few thousand every morning when the tourists roll in on buses,
the historic train and the Skyrail, to see the famous markets. It
is located 25 kilometres from Cairns at an elevation of 330 metres
and is surrounded by rainforest so it has a very pleasant climate. Millaa Millaa
The town of Millaa Millaa is nearby the stunning Millaa Millaa waterfall that you see at the top of this page, and also hosts some other interesting displays, like the red cedar log above that shows you what giant trees once covered this landscape of green hills and dairy cows , and also the interesting artwork on the right, what's this guy doing? Yungaburra
Yungaburra is a charming historic little town of only a 1000 or
so people, more pleasant and attractive to tourists than some other
towns that are more business centres for the surrounding farming
district. The Yungaburra Markets, held on the fourth weekend of each month, are one of the largest in Far North Queensland, and each year around the end of October, Yungaburra holds the two-day Yungaburra Folk Festival, featuring concerts from Australian (and sometimes international) folk musicians. The town got started off in the mining boom days but nowadays its economy today revolves around tourism, and the town contains a primary school, post office, library/telecentre and a range of businesses and services for the use of residents and visitors. Yungaburra has 18 Heritage Listed buildings, and is the largest National Trust village in Queensland. The landscape around Yungaburra has been shaped by millennia of volcanic activity. The most recent eruptions were over 12000 years ago and created some interesting geological features such as Mount Hypipamee Crater, Lake Eacham and Lake Barrine, Tinaroo Dam is a man-made dam in the Barron River, now used by water skiers and for recreation. There are a number of places to dine, from Keddies Takeaway to
fine dining to Nicks Restaurant. Nick's is a German style restaurant/bar
that also used to do yodelling performances, not sure if they still
happen, good for homesick Swiss tourists but probably not what most
people come for to this region. Not sure how good the food is as
we walked out not being able to get any service after 15 minutes,
most times we stay in Yungaburra we get cheese and wine at the shop
anyway to make the most out of the rooms with fireplaces and spas.
About Cairns Highlands - Accommodation - Tours & what to do - Transport & car hire - Photos - Map ![]() |
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