Cairns to Undara road trip: Best stops, distance & drive time

The best stops on a Cairns to Undara road trip include the Millaa Millaa Falls and Innot Hot Springs. By car, the distance from Cairns to Undara is 260km, with a driving time of around 3h23m.

A Cairns to Undara road trip connects the Queensland coast to an extraordinary volcanic landscape inland. The drive will usually form part of a longer road trip. The routes from Cairns to Alice Springs and Cairns to Uluru pass through this way.

Cairns in Queensland brings holding koalas at the Cairns Zoom and Wildlife Dome, snorkelling tours to Green Island and rainforest bungy jumps. To choose from a wide range of memorable Cairns tours and experiences, look here. To pick the Cairns accommodation best suited to you, book here.

Trip-booster! 8 great day trips from Cairns to power-up your holiday

Kuranda combo package – take the Kuranda Scenic Railway up and the Skyrail cable car down.
Green Island tours with beach time, glass bottom boat and snorkelling. (Or pick a Fitzroy Island trip instead).
Moore Reef day tour – with underwater observatory, snorkelling gear, glass bottom boat & semi-submersible cruises.
Great Barrier Reef snorkelling cruise – with snorkelling stops at two excellent spots on the Reef.
Cape Tribulation rainforest day tour – with Mossman Gorge Aboriginal cultural experience and Daintree River crocodile-watching cruise.
Atherton Tableland waterfalls and rainforest tour – including wildlife-spotting and a swim in a volcanic lake.
Outback 4WD tour – visiting Chillagoe Caves, Aboriginal rock art and Granite Gorge.

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There are fair few attractions worth breaking the journey for. Use this guide to help you plan your perfect Cairns to Undara road trip itinerary.

Cairns to Undara distance and driving time

By car, the distance from Cairns to Undara is 260km. That makes for a driving time of around three hours and 23 minutes.

If you have three days in Cairns, do a Great Barrier Reef trip, a Kuranda scenic train and cable car combo and a Mossman Gorge plus Cape Tribulation World Heritage rainforest day trip.

Save time queuing – Book these Cairns attractions in advance

From the air: Outer Reef helicopter flight | Sunrise hot air balloon ride | Skyrail Rainforest Cableway.
At night: Sunset dinner cruise | Pub and club tour | Aquarium by Twilight experience.
For wildlife: Birdworld Kuranda | Kuranda Koala Gardens | Cairns Zoom and Wildlife Dome | Cairns Aquarium | Rainforestation Nature Park
For culture: Cairns Museum tickets | Street art walking tour | City and surrounds highlights bus tour.
For thrills: AJ Hackett giant jungle swing | High speed jet boat tour | Barron Gorge white water rafting | Mulgrave River tubing.

The first section of the Cairns to Undara drive, through the Atherton Tableland, is arguably the most fun.

The quickest route leaves Cairns to the south, passing near Isabella Falls, and branching off the Bruce Highway at Gordonvale, just before reaching Walshs Pyramid and Behana Gorge.

Cairns to Undara drive: Gordonvale to Malanda

The climb into the Tableland is along the often-winding Gillies Range Road. This passes through Little Mulgrave National Park, with several decent lookouts – such as Robson’s Lookout and Frog Rock – along the way.

The road later passes Lake Barrine and Lake Eacham – the volcanically-formed lakes in Crater Lakes National Park. Both have walking trails worth investigating.

The Lake Barrine Teahouse on the shores of Lake Barrine, Queensland. Photo courtesy of Tourism and Events Queensland/ Tourism Tropical North Queensland

The Gillies Range Road continues to Yungaburra, home of the Yungaburra Markets, platypus-viewing platform and enormous Curtain Fig Tree.

You’ll need to head down Lake Barrine Road towards Malanda, however. Here you can go for a crocodile-free swim in the pool below Malanda Falls.

Cairns to Undara road trip: Malanda to Innot Hot Springs

Continue down the Millaa Millaa-Malanda Road towards Millaa Millaa, and the Tableland’s most famous waterfall-spotting circuit. Millaa Millaa Falls, Zillie Falls and Ellinjaa Falls can be linked together in an easy driving route.

If skipping these waterfalls, turn right down State Route 24 – aka East Evelyn Road – just before reaching Millaa Millaa.

This skirts the northern edge of Malaan National Park, and the Millaa Millaa Lookout makes for a good roadside shop.

Divert down Sluice Creek road just before reaching Evelyn and you’ll emerge on National Highway 1. It’s known as the Kennedy Highway in these parts.

The next decent-sized town is Ravenshoe, the highest town in Queensland. Here, there are two impressive waterfalls – Big Millstream Falls and Little Millstream Falls – in Millstream Falls National Park.

Cairns to Undara road trip: Forty Mile Scrub National Park and Undara Lava Tubes

Next comes Innot Hot Springs, where Nettle Creek is home to geothermally-fed warm water pools. A little further along Mount Garnet is the last town of any size for some time as National Highway 1 leaves the Tableland region and heads towards the Gulf Savannah.

Just beyond Forty Mile Scrub National Park, however, is one the star attraction at the end of the Cairns to Undara drive.

The Undara Volcanic National Park is home to what are believed to be the longest lava tubes on earth. These tubes were created during a volcanic eruption 190,000 years ago, when the exterior of the lava flow cooled and solidified while the interior kept flowing.

Undara Experience runs tours exploring the tubes, and explaining these geological oddities.