Atherton Tablelands travel guide

The Atherton Tablelands extend inland in a rough semi-circle from the Cairns coast to the small mining settlements of Mount Molloy in the north, Chillagoe in the west and Mount Garnet in the south: in total an area about the size of Ireland. At an average height of over 800 m, and subsequently the wettest region in Queensland, the Atherton Tablelands are most extraordinary: here, you’ll find lush fields and plump cattle, tropical forests busting with birdsong, huge brimming lakes, high – and at times thunderous – waterfalls and even kangaroos that live in trees . The further west you go the drier it gets until, at the edge of the Great Divide Range, the vast emptiness of the outback takes over. Given its inherent beauty, the Tablelands, especially the small and pretty settlements like Yungaburra, are the favourite retreat of Queensland’s coastal dwellers, as well as tourists in search of peace and quiet, greenery and, above all, cooler temperatures.