A new First Nations-led visitor centre has opened in the Daintree Rainforest at Cape Tribulation, marking what Traditional Owners describe as a new era for cultural tourism on Eastern Kuku Yalanji Country.
The Bamanga Muruku Tourism Hub, owned and operated by the Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation, was officially opened on Thursday 23 April 2026. The $4.8 million facility is the first stage of a broader cultural tourism precinct planned for the World Heritage-listed site at the northern edge of the Daintree National Park (CYPAL).
Joint funding for a long-awaited milestone
The hub is jointly funded with $3.5 million from the Australian Government and $1.34 million from the Queensland Government. Future stages of the project will deliver visitor accommodation, training spaces, and direct employment for Eastern Kuku Yalanji Bama.
Jabalbina chairwoman Laurel Denman said the opening was an important milestone for her people.
“This has been a long time coming. To finally have an Indigenous owned tourism business based on Eastern Kuku Yalanji Country, led by Eastern Kuku Yalanji Bama and extending north of the Daintree River, is something we are very proud of,” Ms Denman said.
She said the centre represented the start of a new era in cultural tourism for the region.
“This is exciting news for Eastern Kuku Yalanji, for the tourism industry, and for the region. This resets cultural tourism in our region. A range of commercial ventures and social programs will now flow from the centre.”
A coordinated cultural tourism strategy
Jabalbina chief executive Josh Paterson said the hub formed part of a coordinated strategy to sustainably develop the region’s cultural tourism offering.
“A host of socioeconomic programs already operating can now be centred on the tourism hub, including training and employment, youth justice, and healing programs,” Mr Paterson said.
Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt said the new visitor centre would showcase the stories and traditions of the Eastern Kuku Yalanji people who have cared for the region for thousands of years.
Country older than memory
Eastern Kuku Yalanji are the Traditional Owners of one of the world’s oldest living rainforests and the surrounding sea Country, with a continuous connection to the area stretching back at least 65,000 years. The Daintree itself is estimated to be around 180 million years old — older than the Amazon — and forms part of the Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Area.
Visitors to the centre will be able to meet Eastern Kuku Yalanji people and learn about their land, sea, and culture through dance performances, art, ceremonies, and guided tours. The hub will also support the new Aboriginal-owned tour company Yalada Tours, which launched alongside the centre offering eco-cultural journeys through Eastern Kuku Yalanji Country.
A design rooted in Country
The hub’s design — a collaboration between CA Architects and COX Architecture — draws inspiration from movement through the rainforest canopy, with timber framing, skylights, and a colour palette inspired by the cassowary, the iconic flightless bird native to the Daintree.
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