Mount Hypipamee National Park Travel Guide

Mount Hypipamee National Park, located on the Atherton Tableland in Far North Queensland, is a geological marvel and a haven for nature lovers. The park's centerpiece is the Mount Hypipamee Crater, also known as 'The Crater,' a diatreme or volcanic pipe created by a massive gas explosion approximately 10,000 to 15,000 years ago. This explosion blasted through solid granite, leaving a deep, cylindrical hole.The crater is almost 70 meters across, with sheer granite walls plunging 58 meters down to a lake that is over 70 meters deep. The water surface is covered with a layer of native waterweed, adding to the mystique of the site. A well-maintained, 400-meter walking track leads through the rainforest to a viewing platform, offering an uninterrupted view of the crater.Beyond the crater, the park boasts a remarkable variety of vegetation types, including high-altitude rainforest. The diverse forest types support a remarkable diversity of possums and birdlife. The Dinner Falls circuit, an optional diversion from the crater track, takes you to a series of cascades in the headwaters of the Barron River.Mount Hypipamee holds cultural significance, with the name derived from an Aboriginal word connected to a legend of two young men swallowed by a large hole in the earth. Gazetted as a national park in 1934 and incorporated into the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area in 1988, the park remains an important recreational area.