Rating: 10/10
Last visited: 3/4/2021
Standing at 286 metres, Wallaman Falls is Australia’s highest permanent single drop waterfall (permanent meaning you can visit anytime of the year and it will be flowing, although it is even more spectacular in the wet season when there has been plenty of rain).
This national treasure is located in Girringun National Park and is part of the Wet Tropics Word Heritage Area. Words cannot even begin to describe the experience of visiting this waterfall, it is incredible.
Whilst the hike/trail to the base of the falls is short, officially only 3.2km return, it includes a decent descent guaranteed to get the heart rate up on the way back.
What you need to know?
Wallaman Falls is located approximately 50km west of Ingham (roughly 1 hour drive). As it is a real tourist attraction, it is well signed. Driving through Ingham, you want to turn onto Stone River Rd, then take a right onto Venables Crossing Rd, Left onto Lannercost Ext R, right onto Wallaman Falls Rd and then follow this road for 34km. The road will take you up a range with a few nice spots to pull over and soak in some views.
There is a National Parks operated camp site approximately 5km from the falls lookout. You need to book a permit online for $6.90 per night per person, although if travelling with family, you can buy a family pass for an overall cheaper rate. There are toilets, toilet paper and a cold-water shower-> it feels like luxury in the midst of the bush! You can also access part of the Great walk from near the campsite.
Whilst this is a bit far as a day trip from Cairns, it would make a reasonable day trip from Townsville at about 2hrs 15min to Ingham plus your 60min drive from Ingham or about 90 minutes from Cardwell. Plenty of options to form part of a weekend getaway!
There is a lookout that is accessible to everybody, including people in wheelchairs and physical disability, located approximately 5km from the campsite. From the lookout, you will be afforded spectacular views of the Falls.
Some people walk from the campsite, but if you are planning on doing the short hike down to the base of the falls, you will be grateful after the steep ascent to have a car waiting for you at the top.
The return hike down to the base of the falls and back is 4km. The signs at the waterfalls state approximately 2 hours to complete the hike. The track is well formed and mostly covered in rainforest. After a heavy rainfall it could get pretty slippery but as long as you are careful, you shouldn’t encounter too many issues with the descent.
We arrived at the carpark at about 4:30 and were approached by a group of young adults telling us we should be careful about the approaching nightfall. Whilst we appreciated their concern, we are relatively fit and can really step up the pace if we need to. And if all else fails we had plenty of battery on our phones to use as light. Keeping this in mind, we didn’t want to prove the group wrong so from the get-go we powered down to the base of Wallaman Falls. The walk along there and back (not including picture-taking time) took about 60 minutes. If you don’t do regular exercise, you can absolutely still make it to the base and back but allow for longer time, plus you won’t want to skimp on time to take photos and soak in the amazingness of the falls.
Don’t be fooled, despite it barely being considered a hike, the trip back up to the top of the falls is a real calf burner. Don’t worry, there are plenty of chairs to stop at and the path is mostly well formed track and stairs, so we think the walk is achievable for anybody who could walk a couple of flights of stairs at a time. Again, just be realistic about your fitness abilities and allow adequate time to complete the walk in sunlight hours.
You will not be disappointed! These falls were seriously one of the most amazing things we have experienced in North Queensland. We would have happily hiked all day and night to see a waterfall this impressive, so we feel lucky that relatively little effort is required to see this true beauty.
Whilst in the area you can also check out Raspberry Creek Falls.
Views from the bottom of the falls:
Views from the range heading up to visit Wallaman Falls:
The difference between visiting after rain (at the end of the wet season) vs visiting at the end of the dry season can easily be seen in the below photo taken in November 2020.
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