Ingham to Cairns road trip: Distance, drive time & best stops
Ingham to Cairns road trip: Babinda and Gordonvale
Close by are the coastal Ella Bay National Park and birdlife-packed Eubenangee Swamp National Park. But the top stop before Babinda is Josephine Falls. It’s a stunning waterfall, and a hiking trail from there leads to Queensland’s highest mountain, Mt Bartle Frere.
The star attraction of Babinda is the Babinda Boulders, which hosts a magnificent swimming hole surrounded by enormous granite boulders. The Babinda Quarters is the best place in Babinda for overnight accommodation.
The last section, from Babinda to Cairns, skirts the edge of Wooroonoran National Park and Bellenden Ker. But you might want to make a turn-off for the gorgeous Behana Gorge walking track just before Gordonvale. It’s a 6.6km return walk to Clamshell Falls, which heads through lush rainforest and past tempting swimming holes.
Gordonvale would like to pretend otherwise, but it’s essentially a southern suburb of Cairns.
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.
Things to do in Cairns include taking the Green Island ferry or Fitzroy Island ferry to one of the city’s nearby islands, or the Evolution cruise to Hastings Reef.
For other options, try the Cairns Aquarium, hair-raising bungy jumping at Skypark Cairns and learning about tropical ecosystems at the Cairns Botanic Gardens.
High class Cairns accommodation options include the Pacific Hotel, the Hilton Cairns and the Sebel Cairns Harbour Lights.
More Queensland travel
Do a glass bottom boat tour near Cairns.
Make a photo stop at the Alexandra Lookout on the drive from Port Douglas to Cape Tribulation.
Where to stop on a Gold Coast to Airlie Beach road trip.
Stop at Coomba Falls on the Toowoomba to Kingaroy drive.
What to see on the Maroochydore to Gympie drive