Budget · 6-hour walk · Cairns
The Botanic Gardens and Mount Whitfield in six hours
Rainforest gardens, war-time fuel tanks turned arts centre, a lake walk and a steep climb through the bush for the view.
A few kilometres north of the centre, at Edge Hill, Cairns keeps a slice of rainforest as its botanic gardens and the forested ridge behind them as a conservation park. It is the easiest way to walk in tropical forest without leaving town. Take a bus or a taxi out, and do the climb in the morning.
The route, stop by stop
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Cairns Botanic Gardens
Tropical gardens with a rainforest boardwalk, collections of gingers and heliconias, and a conservatory. Free.
60 min here Walk here → -
Tanks Arts Centre
Fuel tanks built for the navy in the Second World War, now galleries and a performance space.
20 min here Walk here → -
Centenary Lakes
Two lakes, one freshwater and one saltwater, with turtles and boardwalks through the mangroves.
20 min here Walk here → -
Mount Whitfield Red Arrow
A steep 1.3-kilometre loop through rainforest to a lookout over the city and the coast. Take water; it is hot and humid.
90 min here Walk here →
More walks in Cairns
More in Cairns
Every walking route in Cairns, the full Cairns guide for where to stay and what a day costs, or walks in other cities.