Local Guide
Local Guide
Windin Falls is located on the border of Wooroonooran National Park and Gadgarra National Park in The Atherton Tablelands, North Queensland. The closest town is Malanda and the nearest locality is Glen Allyn.
The great thing about Windin Falls is that you need to trek along a marked trail in order to reach the top of the falls upon which sits a natural infinity pool.
To get to Windin Falls from Cairns, you will need your own vehicle as this location is not included as part of any tour. The drive to Windin Falls from Cairns is approximately 85kms and will take about 90 minutes. You won’t find Windin Falls on Google Maps so you’ll need to navigate using GPS coordinates.
Start by driving to Lamins Hill Lookout (which is found on Google Maps). From Cairns, follow the Bruce Highway (A1) southbound until you reach Gordonvale. Turn right and head along State Route 52 to Lake Barrine Road in Yungabarra. Continue to follow Lake Barrine Road and then Topaz Road, heading towards Lamins Hill Lookout and the start of the Old Cairns Track.
From this checkpoint, continue on Old Cairns Track for about 4.4km. Old Cairns Track goes from paved road to dirt road, however, a 4WD is not necessary to navigate this road.
There are other blog posts which refer to signposts to Windin Falls, a car park and gates to clamber over. We encountered none of these and based on our experience, our theory is that we hiked the non-official trail. We were fortunate to meet a couple who directed us to the beginning of the trail.
Where we began walking, the hike is not marked so take note of the below GPS coordinates. If you reach a sign that says Mount Bartle Frere Western trail head, you have gone too far. Search for the beginning of the trail by looking for red clay. Here, the trail is rather wide and may look inviting to drive your vehicle up this dirt track. Don’t do this, but leave your vehicle at the edge of the Old Cairns track instead. Take care not to block the road as logging trucks often use this route.
GPS: -17.349010, 145.727970 (driving)
There are a couple of starting points to Windin Falls. We took the slightly longer version which was a round trip of about 11.5km. Both trails require a moderate level of fitness. After heavy rainfall, the trail can become muddy and flooded.
The Windin Falls hike is relatively flat (elevation gain is ~350m, mostly on the return journey). The start of the trail begins with red clay. It is tightly packed, particularly after some rainfall. From here, you will reach a section of the trail covered in dead leaves before walking onto a section of the track littered in pine needles. Most of the trail is shady from the tree cover and it is wide enough for two people to easily walk side by side.
After about 5 kilometres, there is a steep descent to reach the top of the waterfall. Here, the trail narrows so you will need to go single file and navigate low shrubbery.
Allow yourself around 3-4 hours for the return hike, time to take photos and a swim in the infinity pool.
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