Travel Guide Cooktown

The Inland Road, which links Cairns to Cooktown, passes through Kuranda and Mareeba; you can also follow the coast to Port Douglas and pass through Julatten. The road is paved to the end. However, the Bloomfield Track (the coastal road) that starts at Cape Tribulation is only accessible by 4x4. Just before Cooktown, on the Pacific coast, stand the Black Mountains, thousands of stacked black granite rocks. This colour does not come from the rock but from the lichen that covers it. The last beginning of civilization, Cooktown retains a very special atmosphere as a city of the past and the end of the world. The discovery of gold in the Palmers Fields (1870s) drained thousands of adventurers who set the region on fire and blood. At its most prosperous period, the city had no less than 94 pubs and as many brothels! But the gold mines ran out and after a few hurricanes and evacuation during the Second World War, Cooktown fell into oblivion, as did many ghost towns that are now almost invaded by the bush. Cooktown currently only survives through tourism. While you are there, visit Grassy Hill, which offers a superb panoramic view of the city and the ocean. Every year in June, the Discovery Festival is held to celebrate the city's historical past, such as the arrival of James Cook in 1770, and to introduce you to its Aboriginal tribes and the region's natural beauty.