About The Daintree

The Daintree Rainforest lies on the coast, north of Cairns, in the tropical far north of Queensland, Australia. At around 1,200 square kilometres, it is the second largest tract of virgin rainforest in the world, beaten only by the Amazon.

Named after Richard Daintree, it is the oldest living rainforest in the world, estimated to be over 100 million years old. It is home to the largest range of plants and animals on earth, and became World Heritage listed in 1988.

Part of the Daintree Rainforest is protected by the Daintree National Park and drained by the Daintree River.

This World Heritage listed area contains the highest number of plant and animal species that are rare, or threatened with extinction, in the world. The Daintree Rainforest is a unique area, precariously balanced between the advances of development and the environmentalists wanting to preserve the forest's exceptional qualities.

The Daintree Rainforest contains 30% of frog, marsupial and reptile species in Australia, and 65% of Australia's bat and butterfly species. 20% of bird species in the country can be found in this area. All of this diversity is contained within an area that takes up 0.2% of the landmass of Australia.

The Daintree Rainforest's addition to the World Heritage List in 1988 in recognition of its universal natural values highlighted the rainforest as being:

An outstanding example of the major stages in the earth's evolutionary history An outstanding example of significant ongoing ecological and biological processes. An example of superlative natural phenomena, and Containing important and significant habitats for conservation of biological diversity. The Daintree Rainforest is over one hundred and thirty-five million years old – the oldest in the world. Approximately 430 species of birds live among the trees, including 13 species that are found nowhere else in the world.