This Australian rainforest is 100 million years older than the Amazon

Countries & Cities · Published 12 October 2026 · Updated 25 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: While the Amazon dominates headlines, the Daintree Rainforest holds a deeper antiquity. As a remnant of a vast continent-wide forest, this ancient ecosystem has survived 120 million years of shifting climates, witnessing the rise and fall of dinosaurs and the arrival of early humans.

Spanning approximately 1,200 square kilometres in Queensland, the Daintree is part of Australia's largest contiguous tropical rainforest. With an age of roughly 180 million years, these woods predate the Amazon by almost 100 million years. This longevity is a result of the region acting as a rare survivor of 120 million years of climatic changes driven by continental drift, which otherwise reduced the original vast forest that once covered the Australian continent.

The biodiversity within this tiny fraction of Australia's landmass—just 0.12%—is staggering. The area supports 90% of the continent's bat and butterfly species, 30% of its frog, reptile, and marsupial species, and over 12,000 insect species. It is also a sanctuary for rare fauna, including the southern cassowary and Bennett's tree-kangaroo. The flora is equally ancient, featuring 'living fossils' like the Jurassic-age conifers Podocarpus and Araucaria, alongside primitive flowering plant families such as Austrobaileyaceae.

The landscape is a rare intersection of tropical rainforest, white sandy beaches, and offshore fringing reefs. Its ecological and cultural value has led to significant protections and shifts in stewardship. In 1988, much of the area was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. More recently, on 29 September 2021, a historic agreement returned formal ownership of 160,213 hectares of country—stretching from Mossman to Cooktown—to the eastern Kuku Yalanji people, the traditional custodians of the land.

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