A region rich in geological wonders, colourful history and natural beauty – this is Chillagoe. As you approach, the jagged edges of limestone karsts and towers jump out from the landscape—like a special welcome sign to this remarkable place.
Once a thriving mining town and home to magnificent limestone caves and Aboriginal rock art, there’s plenty to see and do in and around Chillagoe, so it’s worth staying for more than one night.
Home to some of the most diverse geology in the world, geologists believe the landscape around Chillagoe began to form around 360-420 million years ago, when limestone was deposited as calcareous mud and coral reefs on the bed of a shallow sea where Chillagoe is today. Subsequent tilting, folding and erosion exposed and weathered the limestone that today towers over the surrounding plains. Limestone has been weathered, dissolved and re-formed by water to create spectacular caverns and passages, decorated by secondary deposits, including stalactites, stalagmites, shawls and flowstones.
This extraordinary limestone landscape is protected within the Chillagoe-Mungana Caves National Park, close to the Chillagoe township.
Explore an underground world of grand caverns and exquisite limestone formations, and a savannah landscape above full of fascinating mining heritage and wonderful wildlife.
If open spaces are more your calling, there are also a number of walking tracks within the national park, including the 440m walk to the spectacular limestone outcrop, Balancing Rock. You may be lucky and spot a Mareeba rock wallaby on the track or a wallaroo resting in the shade of the open woodland along the way. Make sure you also see the Wullumba art site nearby.
Your trip to Chillagoe truly wouldn’t be complete without exploring this national park.
Chillagoe is a real outback town with a variety of historic and geological attractions and abundant wildlife. It’s easily accessed via the Wheelbarrow Way from Mareeba, so called to honour the gold mining pioneers who trudged out this way with all their worldly goods packed into a wheelbarrow. An annual foot race with wheelbarrows on this road between Chillagoe and Mareeba commemorates the ‘wheelbarrow pioneers’ each May. A metal sculpture of a man with a wheelbarrow is an eye-catching and fitting town tribute to these hardy souls.
There is much to see in and around Chillagoe, so it’s worth planning to stay for more than one night. Visit the Chillagoe Visitor Information and Interpretive Centre, known as ‘The Hub’ to find out what to see and where to stay.
Don’t leave town without exploring the Chillagoe Smelters, a fascinating, well-preserved ruin with a drive-around museum complete with interpretive storyboards. Follow the walking tracks and take advantage of the viewing areas with informative plaques to appreciate this unique heritage site.
Getting to Chillagoe has never been easier. Expect a 215km trip from Cairns, via Mareeba, along the Burke Development Road, with only 3km of unsealed road, making it accessible by 2WD pretty much all year round. Alternatively, 130km from Herberton via the Herberton-Petford Road or 200km from Undara, however both of these routes have a lot of unsealed sections, which can become impassable during the wet season, so a 4WD is recommended.
If sitting back and taking in the view is more your style, why not let someone else do the driving? Travel in style on the iconic 1960 rail motor—the Savannahlander.
Visit Savannahlander for tour information and prices.
