Black Mountain National Park

Black Mountain National Park is within the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area (WTWHA) which extends for about 450 km between Cooktown and Townsville. It is recognised for its exceptional natural beauty and the importance of its biological diversity and evolutionary history, including habitats for numerous threatened species and also has cultural significance for Indigenous people who have traditional links with the area and its surrounds.

The traditional owners and custodians of Black Mountain National Park are the Eastern Kuku Yalanji clan. Black Mountain is a very significant place for clan members and they hold it in great respect, it is a sacred site as the spirits of their ancestors still remain here to this day.

It is said that Black Mountain is the site of the very last spear fight between the black cockatoo and the white cockatoo. The white cockatoo symbolises the coastal clan group and the black cockatoo symbolises the inland clan group, they had a fight over hunting land, many people died and their bones remain in Black Mountain making it a very sacred site.

Another story about Black Mountain tells us of two giants who were brothers and in love with the same woman. The brothers made piles of stones to throw at each other, they each threw a rock which killed the other brother so their piles of stones still remain at Black Mountain today.

We recommend taking a tour from a local Indigenous tour guide.