Rising from the Great Green Way like a primordial plateau, the Atherton Tablelands have become a hotspot for hiking, mountain biking, and outdoor adventures of all adrenaline levels, thanks to the area’s abundance of waterfalls and lakes as well as ancient craters and lava tubes. Don’t miss the Mareeba Wetlands for wildlife, the Curtain Fig Tree to play out your fairy fantasies, or Mungana Caves National Park—it’s carved with 500-some caves, some of them 400 million years old. Beyond natural attractions, visitors will enjoy the pioneer town Herberton, the Kuranda Original Rainforest Markets, and gourmet food and wine tours—which should end with a “milkshake on steroids” at Petals and Pinecones in the town of Atherton.
