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Visiting Paronella Park at night was like walking through a dream. The ruins of the old Spanish castle situated in the rainforest of tropical Queensland Australia are now covered in moss, yet the magic and romance that once dominated this fortress is still apparent.

Waterfall at Paronella Park at Night, Queensland Australia
The waterfall was one of the first sites we came upon, just before the darkness of night.
Moss covered concrete picnic tables in Paronella Park, Queensland Australia
Moss covered concrete picnic tables.
Paronella Park at Night, Queensland Australia
Our girls in front of one of the buildings being retrofitted. If you look closely you can see the metal support beams.
Bats flying in the Tunnel of Love in Paronella Park, Queensland Australia
At night the colony of bats is clearly visible in the “Tunnel of Love. “
Eels at Paronella Park at Night, Queensland Australia
If the bats weren’t creepy enough, there were also eels.
Waterfall at Paronella Park at Night, Queensland Australia (at night)
The waterfall looks golden when it was lit up for the night tour.
The castle ruins of Paronella Park, Queensland Australia lit up at night.
The castle ruins are lit up at the end of the night tour.

I hope to return to Paronella Park some afternoon. It was a long day and we got there just as the sun was setting. I would love to see it in the daylight.

Tips for visiting Paronella Park:

  • The night tour is included in the admission price, so I think the ideal time to arrive would be a few hours before dark, to have both the day and night experience.
  • We hired a car for the day and drove the 120km from Cairns, which allowed us to visit several interesting waterfalls and other sites along the way.
  • The park has overnight cabins, which we might try next time.

Have you visited or heard of Paronella Park?

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    • If you stay out of the cave you probably won’t need a shower cap. I do have a White baseball cap that I wore in a cave in Belize, and the best list little droppings all over it. I guess the shower Would’ve been useful.

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  10. I have not visited or heard of Paronella Park, or been to Cairns, Australia. I wish I had. It looks amazing. I love old castles. I did walk through old cemeteries and castles in Savannah, Georgia when I lived there.

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  18. we visited Paronella Park as well!! The owner was so kind to keep the lights on so I can take some pictures in the dark (normally the switch the lights after 5 minutes or so). Very interesting place!

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    • You know firsthand how really amazing this place is. How lucky that they kept the lights are longer for you. I’ll bet your photos are fantastic, especially if you had the tripod.

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  24. Hari OM
    Worth pointing out it is a 1930’s immigrant’s ‘castle’!!! Great fun though. 20 years since I was there. Cairns is one of my most favourite places in the whole world (I say that as intended!) – not so much the town itself, but all the places around…if I hadn’t gone to India, that would have been my next home… ah the twists and turns… YAM xx

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    • Thanks Yam, and yes it is well worth pointing this out. I debated about running it for wordless Wednesday, or including more history, So I’m glad you did it for me. I agree, The area around Cairns is amazing. Unfortunately for us the weather wasn’t so good and we didn’t make it out to the great barrier reef.

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  33. Hi Rhonda .. Paronella Park looks amazing .. bats and eels – I’d have loved it .. and I think a night or two in the Park would be amazing … I’d love to see it .. whenever I get to Cairns … cheers Hilary

    Reply

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