Chillagoe Caves National Park
PARK INFORMATION
NPRSR 13 7468
SIZE
3580 ha
VISITOR INFORMATION
Chillagoe (07) 4094 7111 | www.chillagoehub.com.au
LOCATION AND ACCESS
215 km west of Cairns via Mareeba and Dimbulah
CAMPING
No camping
This national park protects the Chillagoe–Mungana cave system, an underground world of caverns, chambers and eerie passageways decorated with stalactites, stalagmites, shawls, helictites (a twisted form of stalactite), canopies, crystal flows and rimstone pools. Above ground, extraordinary 70-metre-high limestone outcrops tower above the surrounding plains. There are also Indigenous rockart sites at Balancing Rock and Mungana.
This rugged limestone landscape supports scrubby vegetation interspersed with kurrajongs, ghost gums, batwing coral trees, bauhinia and native figs – whose roots can often be seen hanging down into the caves. The caves themselves provide a wonderful home for six species of bat, including the common bent-wing and little bent-wing, and the eastern horseshoe-bat. Colonies of white-rumped swiftlets also live in the caves, building their nests of congealed saliva and kangaroo grass on the sloping cave walls. Outside you will see wallabies and wallaroos, with pale-headed rosellas, apostlebirds and blue-faced honeyeaters overhead.
Guided tours are available through the Royal Arch, Donna and Trezkinn caves, just south of Chillagoe. The Royal Arch Cave is a series of 11 chambers spread along a 1.6-kilometre route, dotted with amazing limestone formations. The Donna Cave, although small, is regarded as the prettiest of the caves and is electrically lit. Trezkinn Cave, also lit, has several steep flights of stairs leading to a magnificent chandelier. Bauhinia and Pompeii caves and the Archways at Mungana can be seen on selfguided tours, but you must bring a torch and notify the ranger beforehand. The town of Chillagoe offers a range of accommodation options.