Wallaman Falls

Stony Creek reaches the edge of the Seaview Range west of Ingham and drops around 268 metres in a single fall, the tallest permanent single-drop waterfall in Australia, into a plunge pool at the bottom of a rainforest gorge within the Girringun National Park and the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area. A lookout a short walk from the car park gives the head-on view, and the Djyinda track descends about eight hundred metres of steep path to the base, a demanding return climb of an hour or more. The falls run year-round but are at their most powerful after the wet season. Rainbows form in the spray on sunny mornings, and platypus are sometimes seen in the creek above.

What you actually see

• The single drop - 268 metres of unbroken fall into the gorge.
• The lookout - the head-on view a few minutes from the car park.
• The base track - the steep descent to the plunge pool.
• The rainforest gorge - Wet Tropics forest below the escarpment.

When to go

January to June for the strongest flow following the wet season; the falls run year-round but thin considerably by late in the dry. Morning sun produces rainbows in the spray. The access road can be cut by rain in the wet season.

Honest expectations

The road up is steep, winding and partly unsealed, unsuitable for caravans. The walk to the base is a serious climb back out in humidity. Estuarine crocodiles are not present at the pool, but swimming is still discouraged in places, and signage should be followed.

Nearby

Ingham lies east; Hinchinbrook Island is offshore from Cardwell to the north.