THE CRYSTAL CAVES

The Crystal Caves – A Hidden Gem

Delight your senses with a hands-on exploration of a breathtaking collection of natural crystals and pre-historic fossils at the enchanting Crystal Caves.

Nestled amidst the natural beauty of the Atherton Tablelands, just over one hour west of Cairns, this hidden gem of an experience is sure to captivate and surprise you!

Take an exciting self-guided tour through 300 square metres of man-made cave, adorned with a stunning collection of natural treasures from around the world. Touch, feel and experience these beautiful gems and fossils, and immerse your senses in their splendour. This unique experience provokes a sense of adventure, ignites curiosity, and inspires imagination in visitors of all ages and abilities.

Share and engage in one man’s passion for crystals and fossils, as you are invited on an interactive journey of discovery through founder Rene Boissevain’s extensive private collection.

Once you’ve taken your time exploring the magical wonders of our carefully created cave, you can opt to make your own ‘ground-breaking’ discoveries with our one-of-a-kind ‘Crack A Geode Experience’. It’s a little like a totally rocking lucky dip, where everyone’s a winner, as you reveal the hidden wonders within a 44-million-year-old volcanic bubble.

In our adjoining family room, relax and unwind as the kids unearth treasures in our sandpit or let their creativity run wild on our giant blackboard. If you’d like to take home a treasured memento of your visit, be sure to check out the exquisite collection of gemstones, crystals, fossils and mineral specimens available for sale in our jewellery and gift store, aptly called Fascinating Facets.

Make your own discoveries at The Crystal Caves. This interactive, inclusive and unique attraction is sure to rock your world!

Self-guided Tours

Embark on a self-guided adventure through the tunnels and grottos of our crystal-clad cave.

Behind the façade of our regular storefront lies a hidden world inviting your exploration. As you step inside, you’ll soon discover that this unique attraction isn’t like most mineralogical museums. In our special space, you are invited to explore and experience many of the exhibits through touch, allowing you to truly engage with approximately 100 spectacular specimens.

Take your time discovering the treasures of what surely feels like The Cave of Wonders in the Aladdin movie – where the world’s hidden gems are revealed for your enjoyment. Feel the coolness of massive pyrite crystals, the softness of water polished selenite, the roughness of a woolly mammoths lower jaw, or the sharpness of tiny amethyst crystals.

As you explore the five chambers, you’ll sense the changing space around you, creating an illusion of an actual cave, but with the added convenience of air-conditioning! Carpeted flooring, spotlights and soft instrumental music create a calm ambience in which to absorb the magnificence of nature’s creations.

Explore our Winding Walkway and roll a giant crystal ball weighing 33 kilograms! Feel the vertebrae of a trilobite (an extinct marine arthropod) or the bark of a petrified tree stump in our Fossil Gallery, or check out our gorgeous collection of flourescent minerals, which glow with vibrant colour under black light.

Sit and soak in the splendour of the world’s largest amethyst geode, set in a babbling brook filled with rose quartz – a truly awe-inspiring experience!

On average, a tour of our cave’s highlights takes around 45 minutes. However, this is a self-paced experience and you’re free to explore at your own pace.

Self-guided tours include a briefing, use of a headlamp, a souvenir guidebook and unlimited time to peruse, touch and photograph over 600 crystals and fossils.

Crack A Geode Experience

Be the first person to reveal the interior of a 44-million-year-old volcanic bubble with our popular ‘Crack A Geode’ Experience.

But what in the world is a geode? Essentially, they are ancient volcanic bubbles that became trapped in molten lava. As the lava cooled, silica and other minerals leeched into the hollow, roughly spherical cavity, and gradually lined the inside with crystals such as quartz, amethyst and calcite, while iron and calcium deposits create colour within. Much like a fingerprint, each geode is unique, with its own intriguing composition.

With our optional Crack A Geode Experience, you can choose your own geode and be the first to reveal its unique inner beauty. You pick it, we load it, and you crack it using our giant cracker. As you pull down on the handle, a popping sound signals the unveiling of your geode’s inner secrets. And then your treasure is yours to take home, complete with an identification certificate and safely stowed in a gift bag. Your experience includes safety equipment and instruction, and an explanation of what you find inside your geode.

This experience is available for purchase all day, every day, irrespective of whether you’ve taken a self-guided tour of the caves. It makes the perfect precious memento of your visit or a great gift for loved ones back home.

Rene’s Passion Project

Born of a dream and forged by an undying determination, The Crystal Caves are a glistening testament to one man’s passion to share his love of crystals with others.

Founder Rene Boissevain discovered his love of crystals and fossils back in the early 60’s, when he found a massive 49-kilogram agate nodule at Agate Creek, a popular fossicking area in Outback North Queensland.

This discovery launched Rene on a series of adventures around the world in pursuit of other incredible specimens. His quest took him to South America for amethyst and Central America for massive perfectly clear quartz crystal clusters. In Peru he collected incredible pyrite crystals, while in Mexico he encountered the largest selenite crystals in the world. Soon his impressive collection outgrew his home, and thus a new chapter began.

In 1983, Rene established a rock shop in the centre of Atherton called Fascinating Facets. In 1987, in what some considered a somewhat eccentric endeavour, he decided to convert the basement of his business into a man-made cave in which to exhibit his precious private collection. Since crystals are formed deep underground, a cave seemed like the natural setting for displaying his treasures. Rather than locking all his crystals away in glass cabinets, Rene longed to create a more engaging exhibit, so others could touch, explore and interact with these mineral masterpieces sculpted by nature.

The caves were built using egg cartons for soundproofing, chick mesh for sculpting walls, hessian for modelling limestone formations and fire-retardant poly urethane to lock it all into place. In response to its overwhelming popularity, in 1992 Rene further expanded The Crystal Caves, which today include five chambers, a winding walkway, a crystal brook, a massive amethyst geode, two ultraviolet displays and more than 600 specimens in 300 square metres of tunnels and grottos, which you’re invited to explore at your leisure.

Crystal Cave Contacts

You will find The Crystal Caves at 69 Main Street, Atherton, around 80 kilometres (or just over an hour) west of Cairns, on the picturesque Atherton Tablelands. A local hail and ride bus operated by Trans North offers a convenient public transport option from Cairns and surrounding areas to the attraction, stopping across the road from The Crystal Caves two to three times daily. For further timetable and fare information, please visit transnorthbus.com.au.

The Crystal Caves is open seven days a week from 9am to 5pm, with last admission at 4pm. If you have any enquiries, please feel free to contact our friendly team on 07 4091 2365 or email info@crystalcaves.com.au.

Accessibility

At The Crystal Caves, we recognise and value the importance of inclusivity. Everyone is welcome to experience the wonder of our unique, hands-on attraction. We are an ATEC-accredited Inclusive and Accessible Host and will endeavour to adapt our experience to accommodate your unique needs to the best of our ability.

Street parking (including designated disability parking) is available less than 100 metres from the attraction. Entrance is via a wide, wheelchair accessible doorway. The caves themselves are partially accessible to conventional wheelchairs, with accessible emergency exits available. There are a series of 12 steps at the end of the cave tour. However, these can be avoided by retracing your path back to the entrance. Please note that some areas of the cave may be a little narrow for manoeuvring larger wheelchairs and scooters. Please speak to our friendly team to discuss options for ease of access. Ramps and stairs throughout the caves feature handrails to aid stability.

Please note that lighting throughout the cave is variable, with some dark areas which utilise blacklight to illuminate fluorescent specimens. Headlamps are provided and can be used throughout.

This highly tactile experience is likely to appeal to guests who are blind or have low vision. An immersive audio guide with written transcript describing the experience and key specimens on exhibit can be found on The Crystal Caves website at crystalcaves.com.au or on the Vacayit app. A free guidebook is also available in print format on entry, or is available for digital download from the ‘Free Downloads’ section of our website, under the ‘How Can We Help?’ tab.

We warmly welcome all pets and service animals and can provide water for them on request. Free entry is offered to carers assisting registered Companion Card holders with disability.

We have a social script available on our website to help prepare you for your visit, and our least busy time is typically in the morning at 9am.

Want to know more about how we can help? Please refer to the excellent information and helpful hints available on the dedicated Accessibility page of our website at crystalcaves.com.au/accessibility.