Many of the most beautiful and spectacular rainforests in the world are located in Australia. Over half of these are located in Australia's north eastern state of Queensland. One single area of tropical rainforest extends for 7,500 square kilometers and is located in the area between Cooktown and Townsville. The Daintree and Cape Tribulation Rainforests are the most famous in Queensland and have existed almost unchanged for 100 million years. These rainforests make up the second largest tract of virgin rainforest outside of the Amazon region and are home to over 150 species of trees. This makes them a wonderful place to explore the local flora and fauna, from watching beautiful birds to the crocodiles living in the Daintree River.

As Queensland contains over half of Australia's rainforests, it has become one of the major tourist attractions in Australia. There are a whole host of tour companies that will only be too happy to show you around and there are many places for you to stay. It may be worth combining a trip to the Great Barrier Reef with a visit to the Queensland rainforests as the Reef is not that far away. The best way to get to the rainforests is to fly to Cairns, from a major city such as Melbourne or Sydney, and then secure ground transportation. Many of the resorts are only 60 to 120 minutes from Cairns by road.

Many of the tours are designed to get you closer to Australia's flora and fauna. Some are river tours and others are four wheel drive tours. Some examples are:

Australia Wildlife Tours
De Luxe Safaris
Heritage & Interpretive Tours
Tony's Tropical Tours

To get to know the rainforest a little better, you may want to consider one of the many accommodations available. The unique thing about some of these rainforest resorts is that the accommodation may actually be in luxury tree houses or at least deeply embedded into the forest. The idea is to get you as close to the forest as possible.

The Daintree Wilderness Lodge is a small intimate lodge in the Daintree Forest. The luxury style bungalows offer complete privacy, with interconnecting boardwalks, breakfast served in your bungalow each morning, ensuite bathroom, and a viewing roof to allow you to experience the wonder of the rainforest canopy from within your room.

Coconut Beach Rainforest Resort is located about 140 km north of Cairns between two World Heritage Areas, the Great Barrier Reef and Daintree National Park. The Resort is a 4 Star Resort and offers an intimate environmental experience with the rainforest so close to the rooms, you can stand on your balcony and feel as though you are in the trees. At night, you can hear the rustling of the leaves and by daylight, wake to the cacophony of native Australian birds.

Australia also has cooler climate rainforests especially in the southern island state of Tasmania. Many of these are accessible easily after a short drive from the capital city of Hobart. One of the most popular is the Mount Field National Park and one of the main features is the spectacular Russell Falls. Other states such as New South Wales and Victoria also have rainforests that can be visited by tourists.