OUR ROOTS...

Kuranda, known as Ngunbay (meaning "place of the platypus" in the local Djabugay language), is a small vibrant town of creative souls nestled in the World Heritage-listed rainforest of Far North Queensland. Kuranda’s denizens are an eccentric mix of indigenous Djabugay, Buluwai and Tableland tribes, cattle farmers, hippies from the original Aquarius generation, world gipsies and their numerous offspring.

Kuranda’s roots run very deep. For countless millennia the Djabugay and Buluwai people have called Kuranda home. It is an honour to be able to hold Kuranda Roots Festival on their sacred land and to have them share with us their culture, their dance and their music.

To the Djabugay people, the "Creation Era" (The Dreamtime) describes the events surrounding the making of the world. In Djabugay country, Bulurru is the "spirit of creation, the sacred past, the word and the law to be followed". As the Bulurru ancestors journeyed across the land, stories, songs and ceremonies were recorded and have been passed down from generation to generation. The greatest ancestor of all is Gudjugudu - the Rainbow – who could transform into ancestors such as Budaadji, the carpet snake.

Kuranda Roots is a celebration of music and creative culture aimed at bringing together people from all generations and all walks of life in one love and unity. From humble beginnings at the fantastic Kuranda Amphitheatre to the Billabong, Roots now calls Kanjini home – a lush site at the base of Emerald Creek Falls with comfortable campgrounds surrounded by creek and forest. The festival features an exciting array of bands, DJ’s, dancers, workshops, a market village and is very family-friendly.

Over the years artists as diverse as the UK’s Mad Professor & Mungo’s HiFi, NZ’s Cornerstone Roots and Olmecha Supreme and Australian favourites Archie Roach, Opiuo, Combat Wombat, OKA, Dubmarine, Kingfisha and so many more, have made the journey up to the rainforest to perform in what some say is “the best little festival in Oz”.

We recommend staying at the festival campground, which has all the facilities you need. Camping is included in the ticket price.

There's also plenty of food and drink stalls inside the festival and a regular shuttle bus into Kuranda village.