Mossman Gorge
Local culture: An aboriginal guide from the Kuku Yalanji people takes some tourists around Mossman Gorge National Park. Picture: TTNQ
Mossman Gorge is one of the most visited tourist sites in the Cairns region, with nearly 500,000 visitors annually.
Located a few kilometres north of Port Douglas, Mossman is home to many residents who work in the tourist resort town of Port.
Originally just a sugar cane town, a large part of the population now works in the service industries connected to tourism.
Mossman is about 85km from Cairns on the Captain Cook Highway and offers visitors an insight into country life in the Cairns region.
The sugar cane crushing season lasts from June to October and visitors can tour the mill during this time.
Mossman was named by the explorer George Dalrymple in 1873 after Hugh Mosman, but the spelling was changed later to avoid confusion with the chi-chi suburb of the same name in Sydney.
Just outside the town, about five minutes west, the stunning Mossman Gorge National Park includes a number of fantastic walks, a beautiful swimming hole and abundant flora and fauna.
This is a very accessible piece of the Daintree National Park and in recent years a number of excellent tours have been designed to offer visitors access to the landscape without too much hard work.
Mossman Gorge is home to the Kuku Yalanji people, the traditional owners of the area, who run great tours that include a walk around the area with the Kuku Yalanji people who explain the dreaming of the area and the various uses for flora and fauna.
Despite the Gorge's popularity, its environment remains pristine and lush due to care by the Kuku Yalanji and local rangers.
There is not a lot of accommodation available in itself, but there are some great bed and breakfasts, a couple of good caravan parks with cabins and traditional pubs.
The majority of visitors stay in Port Douglas, visiting the town on tours.
Would you like more information about Mossman Gorge, or other tourist attractions in the region? Follow the links below to find out:
> Port Douglas and Mossman Tourist Information
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