Discovery Centre Introduction

The Daintree Discovery Centre elevated tree top walks offers a unique rainforest experience. The 11-metre-high aerial walkway provides unrivalled views of the Daintree’s ancient flora and fauna, from the rainforest floor up into the soaring heights of the treetops.

Climb to the top of the 23-metre high Canopy Tower, stopping at each of the five viewing platform for unparalleled access to the individual layers of the rainforest canopy. Descend to the rainforest floor and enjoy the serenity along the Cassowary Circuit, taking in the ancient king ferns at the McLean’s Creek lookout.

Earth Day

Explore our Stories, Get Outside

Earth Day is an annual celebration that honors the achievements of the environmental movement and raises awareness of the need to protect Earth’s natural resources for future generations. The first Earth Day was held April 22, 1970.

Spiny Leaf Insect

Behind the Scenes

Masters of camouflage, you won’t spot these guys in the rainforest.The Spiny Leaf Insect is a species of stick insect, also known as Spiny Stick Insects. They belong to a well-camouflaged group of insects called phasmids and they appear more like dead leaves than sticks. They love to eat fresh foliage, just like other phasmids, but unusually only the males can fly, with the females developing tiny unusable wings.

Meet Jet – A Black Headed Python

Explore our Stories, History

This nocturnal snake powers-up for the night by poking out just its black head to absorb the sun’s energy.

Description: This python is one of the most distinctive in appearance with its shiny black head and yellow to beige coloured body, striped with orange to brown bands.

Diet: The Black-headed Python is a carnivore and feeds on small mammals and reptiles.

In the wild: Instead of basking in the sun to warm its body and exposing itself to predators, the Black-headed Python only protrudes its head out of its burrow. Its black head acts as a solar panel and heats its entire body. Like other pythons, this nocturnal snake kills its prey by coiling around and suffocating it.

Threats: Black-headed Pythons sometimes lay on the road to absorb the heat from the surface and are often killed by unaware drivers.

Daintree Discovery Centre Enters Ecotourism Australia Hall of Fame

Behind the Scenes, Media Releases

The Daintree Discovery was inducted into Ecotourism Australia’s Hall of Fame last night, for being ECO certified for 20 years.

The awards were presented during the gala dinner of the Global Eco Asia Pacific Tourism Conference, held at Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park, north of Cairns.

The Daintree Discovery Centre, which celebrated 30 years this year, is an award-winning ecotourism attraction in the heart of the Daintree, providing visitors with an opportunity to view the rainforest from the forest floor all the way up to the upper most regions of the canopy.

Abi Ralph, manager of the Daintree Discovery Centre, said ecotourism and sustainability were at the core of the business.

“Everything we do at the Discovery Centre reinforces the need to preserve the Daintree Rainforest. We have elevated walkways designed to protect the fragile root systems, Interpretive displays that foster environmental sustainability and we model best practice in water conservation, waste management, recycling and eco-friendly design,” she said.

Induction into the Hall of Fame is an honour now bestowed upon 26 ecotourism businesses, the first of whom were entered into the Hall of Fame in 2018, 22 years after Ecotourism Australia’s certification program was fist launched as the National Ecotourism Accreditation Program (NEAP) – now ECO Certification.

Ecotourism Australia CEO Rod Hillman said that this year’s awardees were some of the leading ecotourism operators in the country, whose longevity and continued success in a rapidly changing industry was testament to their continued commitment to sustainable business practices and dedication to benefiting the communities and environments in which they operate.

“We are very proud to welcome these 12 operators into our Ecotourism Australia Hall of Fame. They are our nation’s true ecotourism innovators, and their leadership has paved the way for more responsible and sustainable tourism as we experience it today,” he said.