After a fantastic day waterfall hopping through the popular waterfall circuit in the Atherton Tablelands we decided to spend our Saturday looking for more. Crystal Cascades is an extremely popular waterfall near Cairns that is visited daily by people of all ages. A long steady river with various pools to jump into, boulders to climb on, mini waterfalls and the larger waterfall at the highest point of Crystal Cascades, this waterfall makes for a great day in the sun.
From the parking lot you can walk along the paved footpath for 2km one direction to the top of the falls. It is a bit of a walk with inclines in some parts but the pavement makes it one of the most wheelchair-friendly waterfalls with a viewing platform once you reach the end.
There are multiple spots along the way where you can stop to take a swim in the different pools. You might even enjoy a spot so much that you won’t feel the need to get all the way to the top! We spent the end of our afternoon enjoying the sunshine and swimming in the water here but before that, we went on a little adventure through the forest to find Fairy Falls.
From the Crystal Cascades parking lot, there is a marked trail that will lead you to Fairy Falls. The forest trail is quite obvious to start out but eventually you will get to a point where you need to climb over some some big rocks and boulders. Just keep following the stream up until you can’t go any further. It’s there that you’ll find Fairy Falls, tucked in at the end of the stream and still a little bit less known than other waterfalls.
At fist, Fairy Falls looks like a small waterfall coming down some rocks but once you climb up to it, you’ll see the beautiful circular pool below. When I went, there was a fallen tree laying in the pool that made for some good fun trying to climb up. Above it, someone has placed a rope from one side of the rocks to the other for people to swing and climb on. While it is a small waterfall and a small pool, Fairy Falls was one of my favorite waterfalls in Cairns for its unique location and very swim-able pool of water.
Just a short drive from where we were staying, exploring Crystal Cascades and Fairy Falls was an easy and fun day – and a great way to end my time in Australia. Of the two, I preferred finding Fairy Falls because I love a little bit of adventure to reach a special spot. It’s a bit harder to access which means there will be less people but the ones that do show up will probably want to spend some time snapping photos in the pool before being on their way – and it’s a small space so it can get crowded quickly. To spend an entire day swimming, relaxing and hanging out with friends, I would pick Crystal Cascades for the easy access and how huge it is.