The Daintree statistical area is marked here on a map created by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The population of the Daintree region in the 2021 census was 6,674.
You can see from this map that Mossman is included in “Daintree”. Daintree has borders with “Port Douglas” and “Tablelands” to the south and “Cape York” to the east.
Its western border is the Coral Sea, with The Great Barrier Reef lying offshore.
The area known as Daintree is entirely within the Shire of Douglas, but the two aren’t the same.
These tours will allow you to see what Daintree has to offer.
Daintree Discovery Tours are a good choice as they take you to Mossman Gorge, for a cruise on the river, and to the Daintree north of the river on a day tour. This tour is only available from Port Douglas, people staying in Cairns or Palm Cove can drive up and join the tour in Port. This is a great tour, including an Aboriginal “welcome to country” with the Kuku Yalangi. Book here.
From Cairns, book a full-day tour to Mossman Gorge and Daintree, including an optional river cruise and indigenous experience. Book here.
From Port Douglas, book a half-day (morning or afternoon) tour to Mossman Gorge and the Daintree River. This is a cheaper option and great if you’re short of time. Book here.
To take a night walking tour in the Daintree Rainforest, spotting wildlife in the dark, go here. This particular tour is for families with young kids, there is also an adult tour.
It’s also possible to go trekking in the Daintree National Park, look here.
What is Daintree Named After?
Daintree is named after a man, Richard Daintree, well-known geologist and friend of George Elphinstone Dalrymple who was the leader of the first European exploration party in the Daintree River Valley in 1873.
The Kuku Yalanji people, of course, were the original custodians of this land, and it has been returned to them today. Kada Kaba is the wet place, the rainforest surrounding Thornton Peak, the sacred mountain Wundungu. Julaymba is Daintree (source).
Towns Near the Daintree Rainforest
Daintree Village is a small settlement on the Daintree River, south of the Cape Tribulation section of the Daintree Rainforest. It is named as a village, but often referred to as a small town. It’s most certainly not a city!
Daintree Village is an embarkation point for crocodile spotting cruises on the Daintree River and has a jetty, a few small shops, and places to stay.
It was formerly a red cedar timber town, today you’ll find cattle farms and tourism.
As you drive along the Mossman Daintree Rd. towards Daintree Village you’ll pass a few other river cruise operators, a few hotels, cattle farms and scattered homes hidden in the foliage.
Mossman is a nearby town, a much larger rural town in the Douglas Shire and home to the Mossman Gorge. Mossman has a supermarket, fuel, schools, and shops.
It is inside the Daintree statistical area as marked on the official map above.
The Mossman Gorge is within the Daintree Rainforest and Daintree National Park. So Mossman is probably the closest town to “The Daintree” and maybe the only town in “Daintree.”
Is it worth visiting Mossman? There’s not much of interest to tourists in Mossman, but it’s a good example of a rural Australian town. The Mossman sugar mill and cane trains are interesting and the ancient rain trees on the Mossman Daintree Road are beautiful.
A market is held under the rain trees on Saturday mornings.
If you are driving to the Daintree River from Cairns or Port Douglas, you will pass through Mossman. The section of road north of Mossman to the Daintree River has beautiful views of the Coral Sea in places.
Port Douglas is also a town, it’s south of Mossman, so further away from the Daintree Rainforest and not included in the “Daintree” statistical map.
There are no towns in the Daintree Rainforest, most settlements are designated as villages.
Cape Tribulation, Cow Bay, and so on have small settlements, sometimes referred to as villages or localities.
Syndicate is in the Daintree National Park south of the river, near Mossman, but it’s not a town.
A town is defined as a built-up area with a name, defined boundaries, and local government, that is larger than a village and generally smaller than a city. (Oxford English Dictionary).
What’s the Nearest City to the Daintree Rainforest?
Cairns is the nearest city south of the Daintree Rainforest.
Cairns has an international airport and railway connection and as such is a gateway for visitors to the Daintree Rainforest and National Park.
Cooktown is the nearest city north of the Daintree Rainforest and is reachable via two roads, one along the coast through the Daintree Rainforest, one inland.
A city is a relatively permanent and highly organized centre of population, of greater size or importance than a town or village(Encyclopedia Brittanica)
Do People Live in the Daintree Rainforest?
Yes, absolutely, people can and do live in the Daintree Rainforest.
North of the Daintree River there is very little by way of infrastructure so most residents rely on solar power and rainwater collection or bore water. Some residents commute south for work, using the Daintree Ferry.
Why did I write this post about a place that doesn’t exist? There was wrong information online, so I thought I’d fix that. We live in this region and I didn’t know exactly what or where “Daintree” was today. Maybe I’ve made mistakes or read the wrong information, there is a lot of AI generated spam on the internet these days. If you have any further information on this I’d love to know. Leave it in the comments please so we can all figure this out together!
For more information on the Daintree Rainforest, River, and National Park, hit the “Daintree” tab here.
Alyson Long is a British medical scientist who jumped ship to chase dreams. A former Chief Biomedical Scientist at London's West Middlesex Hospital she started in website creation and travel writing in 2011.
Alyson is a full-time blogger and travel writer, a published author, and owns several websites. World Travel Family is the biggest.
A lifetime of wanderlust and over 6 years of full-time travel, plus a separate 12 month gap year, has given Alyson and the family some travel expert smarts to share with you on this world travel site.
Today Alyson still travels extensively to update this site and continue her mission to visit every country, but she's often at home on her farm in Australia.
