Last visited: August 2021
Distance: 10.5 km
Time: allow between 6 and 8 hours
Elevation: 1190 metres
Difficulty: 9/10
Reward/Effort Ration: 9/10
North West of Mossman, in the Daintree National Park and the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area lies the Manjal Jimalji Trail. This trail is culturally significant to the traditional owners, the Kubirri Clan of the Kuku Yalanji as it tells the story of fire creation. If you are brave enough to tackle this beast, you will feel like your body is on fire.
The trail amongst local hikers is more commonly referred to as "Devil's Thumb" which is rather fitting, as we are sure the Devil himself created this trail. You will for certain feel like you are hell for at leas the first 3 vertical kilometres of this hike.
Trail Notes
With an introduction like that, here is what you need to know.
All jokes and puns aside, we actually love this hike and could not recommend it enough, the reward is well and truely worth the effort (big reward, big effort).
Useful bits:
Make sure you carry plenty of water, as you will sweat plenty, we always carry at least 2.5 to 3 litres.
Keep an eye out for snakes, every time we have done this track we have come across at least one (you should also carry a pressure bandage).
Parts of this trail you will not have any phone reception. If you have a personal locator beacon pack it.
Start this trail early, as depending on your fitness level, it can be a long hike. If you are not as fit as you think you should be and need to take many rests it could take up to 9-10 hours.
If you are not an experienced hiker, we recommend building up to this trail and if you can, finding someone who has conquered this beast before to hike with.
The trail starts just past the town of Mossman in Whyanbeel. It is roughly 1 hour 15 minute drive from Cairns. You basically want to get on Karnak Road then follow it until it ends at private property. The start of the track is located at the end of the road and is very well signed.
From the carpark, which is just a patch of dirt on the side of the road, follow the track markers, be mindful not to end up on private property. There is private property on either side of the trail from the carpark to the creek. The markers will lead you to the creek. The markers then continue along the creek which you will need to cross to start the ascent.
The trail is located across the creek and is very well signed.
The official start of the track starts from the above sign and is 10.5 km return. Whilst the sign does state that there are markers at 1km intervals, don't be too disheartened if you haven't spotted them in a while. When we did this hike last we only spotted the 1km, 4 km and 5km markers.
At about 1.5 km (a rough estimate) into the trial, there is a very defined fork and you will hear the sounds of Karnak Falls in the distance. The fork to the left (rumour has it) will take you to the falls. We haven't done this walk yet so can offer no usual advice. The track to the Thumb continues to the right.
The first 3 km of this hike are vertical, unforgiving and relentless. It is rumoured that for every 3m you walk, you gain 1m in elevation for the first 3km of the hike. This makes for one hell of a steep track! Other victims (people we convince that hours of pain is fun) like ourselves, will agree that this is one of the more difficult tracks in our region. The below photo provides some context as to how steep this trail is.
When you reach the fern patch, which we calculate to be more than 3 km in (yes more than half way - yay!), you can take in the views and take comfort in knowing that the worst is behind you. We always celebrate reaching the fern patch, you should too!
The ferns are very overgrown on this track and they are a bit scratchy, this is a trail where you may consider wearing longer pants.
Keep following the defined trail through the fern patch, keeping left you will come to metal steps, this is how you know you are on the right track. Follow the steps up and keep on walking through the ferns until you get back into the rainforest.
This section of the rainforest can be overgrown and unfortunately have leeches. The section of rainforest between the ferns and the Thumb is the highest risk of getting lost. Whilst physically the most difficult part is behind you, we do recommend paying close attention to the markers through this section. We have seen many people get momentarily lost in this section (including ourselves on more than one occasion). Provided you are vigilant on keeping track of your markers those moments of being lost are really just short detours.
The track is pretty well marked, but at times the trail seems to lead off. We recommend that if you haven't seen a marker in 25 metres, back track to the last marker and make sure you haven't taken a wrong turn. Whilst the trail is well marked sometimes the markers are easy to miss just because they are old.
After the fern patch there is a boulder section. The rocks are marked and the trail does continue up the boulders. Helpfully there is a trail that continues past this section to the left, just make sure that you walk right around and loop back to the top of the boulder section to pick up the trail again.
Unfortunately after the boulders the trail will lead you down to a descent, before coming back up to your destination. Try not to be too disheartened by the fact that you are heading back down, to then go back up, to reach your destination. It will be worth it we promise.
You will know you have arrived at Devil's Thumb when you come across the impressive tall rocks. The trail ends at a makeshift bridge which you will need to cross to climb to the top of the rock.
When you get to the top, the views are sensational.
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