Mount Hypipamee National Park Tropical North Queensland

Photo credit: © Tourism and Events Queensland

About Mount Hypipamee

    Park features

    Located high on the southern Evelyn Tableland, in the Hugh Nelson Range, this national park is centred around a diatreme or volcanic pipe, thought to have been created by a massive gas explosion.

    A platform at the end of a 400m walking track through the rainforest provides an uninterrupted view of the remaining crater. The crater is almost 70m across with sheer granite walls (the surface rock through which the gas exploded). Fifty-eight metres below the rim is a lake over 70m deep, covered with a green layer of native waterweed.

    A remarkable variety of vegetation types, including high-altitude rainforest, grow in this small park. It is a hot spot for possums with several different species found in the area and a good place for seeing high-altitude birds.

    Looking after the park

    • Brushtail possums are often seen around the car park, especially at dusk. Do not feed the possums, or other wildlife, as it causes unnaturally large concentrations of animals in the area, leading to aggressive interaction and the displacement of other species. Human food is also unhealthy for wildlife.
    • Take your rubbish home with you.
    • Do not throw any objects into the crater.

    Spotlight etiquette

    A well-planned spotlight activity will deliver great results with very little effort or impact on the environment. Here are a few things that will make your experience memorable:

    • Keep bulb wattage to 30 watts or less. This increases the chance of finding animals (by not warning them) and will extend viewing times.
    • Bring binoculars for better viewing.
    • Use senses to find wildlife. Look for eye shine, listen for leaves rustling and inhale the smells.
    • Use a white light to explore the forest, and then add a red or orange (cellophane) filter to view wildlife.
    • Remember loud voices and sounds will scare away the wildlife and ruin the experience.
    • Lights should never be set on nesting birds—this can cause them great distress.

    See the guidelines on caring for parks for more information about protecting our environment and heritage in parks.

    Park management

    Mount Hypipamee was gazetted a national park in 1934. In 1988 it was included within the Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Area.

    Tourism information links

    For tourism visitor information centre locations visit Discover Queensland  and for tourism information for all regions in Queensland visit Queensland Holidays.

    • There are currently no park alerts for this park.