Galleries, Museums and Collections
Australian Butterfly Sanctuary
Australian Butterfly Sanctuary is the largest butterfly flight aviary and exhibit in Australia
Kuranda
About This Attraction
This award winning boutique style wildlife experience, Kuranda Koala Gardens, is in Kuranda Village right at the Heritage Markets. This is the only place in Kuranda village where you can enjoy the 'Cuddle a Koala' opportunity. A small fee applies and this includes a digital souvenir photo.
Also visit Australia's first walk-through 'Reptile House' and see pythons and other reptiles roaming free. Meet tame wallabies, see wombats, freshwater crocodiles, lizards and more. Visit the 'Pioneer Shed' that depicts some of the early history of European settlement in the Kuranda region.
A free shuttle bus operates from Skyrail and Kuranda Scenic Train Stations.
It's a great attraction for those with limited time in the region, (if you have plenty of time, they also recommend visits to Cairns Tropical Zoo and Hartley's Crocodile Adventures). Kuranda Koala Gardens is also part of the 'Kuranda Wildlife Experience'. This combines Kuranda Koala Gardens, Birdworld and the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary.
These are ideal for independent travellers and small groups.
Contact Information
Phone
(07) 4093 9953
Email
[email protected]
Website
Visit Website
Destination
Cairns (and vicinity)Nearby Attractions
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National Parks and Reserves
Barron Gorge National Park
Barron Gorge National Park has great cultural and historical significance, with dramatic scenery and World Heritage-listed rainforest. The local Aboriginal people developed trails through the area, which later became the first pack routes used by Europeans to link the hinterland goldfields to the coast. Today, you can walk the same trails for pleasure! Walk to a lookout to view Barron Falls (spectacular after good rainfall). Take the Skyrail cableway for views over the forest canopy and out to the coast. Jump aboard the famous Kuranda railway as it winds past ravines and picturesque waterfalls. Explore the rainforest along the walking tracks from Speewah or Kamerunga. Join a white-water rafting tour for an up-close experience of the river.
Kuranda
Zoos, Sanctuaries, Aquariums and Wildlife Parks
BatReach
BatReach, located in Kuranda, is a bat and wildlife care centre, focusing on flying foxes. Pam Tully, creator of the centre, began looking after flying foxes around 1990 in the suburb of Edge Hill in Cairns. She then started a bat and wildlife rescue and care centre at Zillie Falls near Milla Milla on the Atherton tablelands. She later relocated to Kuranda at the top of the range overlooking Cairns. In 1999, after noticing that people walking past seemed horrified at the flying foxes in the recovery cages, making comments like "look at those ghastly creatures
Kuranda
Zoos, Sanctuaries, Aquariums and Wildlife Parks
Birdworld Kuranda
Home to the largest single collection of free flying birds in Australia (some 500 of them!), Birdworld Kuranda displays no less than 75 species of the most spectacular birds from all corners of the planet - as well as from the earth's fast diminishing rainforests. Visitors are free to wander through the lush, tropically landscaped aviary to observe the birds in their own specific - yet natural - habitats. Two lakes connected by a tumbling waterfall for example are home to waterbirds such as stilts, herons and Australia's own unique Black Swan.
Kuranda