Kuranda Train and Skyrail

Friday 17 July 2026 |

Today we headed off to see the two major tourist attractions in the region. The Kuranda Scenic Railway runs from Cairns Central Station to the mountain-top town of Kuranda. It can be taken one-way or return, but most people take the trip one-way and then return by the Kuranda Skyrail, which terminates in Smithfield, about 15km from Cairns. We were most people.

The train tickets are sold through resellers and tourist operators. If you visit the Kuranda Railway website and inquire about tickets they advise that they will respond to you within 72 hours.

The logistics are complicated but instead of booking us Cairns return, our agent booked a self-drive ticket starting and ending in Smithfield. I’m starting to think that the “Happy Travels” moniker was more about their current state of mind than our future satisfaction.

However, once we arrived at the station, things were looking up. The train was cute, with all the appropriate old-world wood finish, painted metal rails and hard seats.

They place 4-6 people in each booth, and we ended up with a couple from Moonah and a Norwegian au pair. As we were to spend the next 90 minutes together, we started the conversations straightaway. The teacher was animated, interesting and we discover that she taught at New Norfolk High for 20 years. Her husband sat near the window and looked out. Several times his mouth moved, but Debbie and I later agreed, that we never actually heard evidence of his vocal cords vibrating.

The views from the train were nice, but the track was under maintenance and the view constantly interrupted with machinery, workers, and supplies. Given the $50 ticket, I’m not sure I could say it was value for money.

10 minutes before Kuranda we stopped at Baron Falls. The flow has been much diminished by the damming of the river upstream, but the outlook over the Gorge was nice.

Just before noon we arrived in Kuranda. This town has many sisters, Nimbin, Daylesford, Byron Bay. Lots of cafes, shops selling the most awful souvenirs, overpriced drinks, and again – more misleading signs.

We wandered around the eco-village, voted against a 30-minute treatment for “dicky knees” and snatched a sushi roll.

With our remaining 40 minutes we walked along the banks of the Barron River.

It was now time to board the Skyrail. Gondolas for up to 6 people take you down the mountain in three stages.

Passengers alight at Barron Falls and again at Red Peak. There are short boardwalks at each to give a different view of the world heritage rainforests.

We arrived in Smithfield at around 3pm and headed to the shopping centre to purchase groceries. By 4:pm we were on the city bus back to town. Tickets are normally 50 cents, but the driver whooshed us past, saying that he was running late. The bus was very crowed, but as far as I can tell he was exactly on time.

There was tango happening at 7pm in another suburb, but given the sparce availability of busses (local public holiday for the show) I decided against it, and we settled in for a quiet night of dinner, wine and quiz shows!