Skip to content
Menu
Alerts
Search the site
Google
Translate
Disclaimer

Search the site

Close search form
Get your parks pass
Visitors underground at Mole Creek Caves, Mole Creek Karst National Park
Mole Creek Caves, Mole Creek Karst National Park
World Heritage Area logo

Mole Creek Karst National Park

Sparkling limestone caves.

Find out more

FeaturesExpand/Collapse

  • Barbecues
  • Caving
  • Drinking water
  • Fuel stove only
  • Park ranger
  • Parking
  • Picnic facilities
  • Toilets
  • Visitor centre
  • World Heritage Area

ContactExpand/Collapse

  • Mole Creek Caves
    330 Mayberry Rd, Mole Creek TAS 7304
    Postal: PO Box 172
    Mole Creek TAS 7304
    Phone: 03 6363 5182
    Email: MCCaves@parks.tas.gov.au

    ​Visitor centre opening hours
    Open 7 days
    9.30am to 4pm 1 October to 30 April 
    9.30am to 3.15pm 1 May to 30 September

About

​​The Mole Creek Karst National Park, features an extensive karst landscape of caves, sinkholes, gorges, streams and springs that weave their way below the surface. These amazing features form a part of the extensive Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (TWWHA)​.

Visitors can access two very different caves, offering contrasting underground environments to explore. Marakoopa Cave is home to a starry display of glow worms and a huge cavern known as the Great Cathedral, which reverberates song with perfect clarity. Two streams flow through the Marakoopa Cave and the sound of running water follows you throughout.

In contrast to Marakoopa Cave, King Solomons Cave is compact and drier but still features lavish decorations and striking formations, including impressive shawls, stalactites and stalagmites.

The Mole Creek Caves are home to a range of fascinating animals that exist in this unique and lightless underground environment, including cave spiders, harvestmen and crickets.

National park

A valid parks pass is required for entry to Tasmania's national parks.
Choose from a range of pass options to best meet your needs.

Get your parks pass

Located on the slopes of the Great Western Tiers in northern Tasmania, the Mole Creek Karst National Park protects an internationally significant karst system. 

It is the only national park in Tasmania created specifically to protect karst landforms. The area is renowned for its gorges, sinkholes and numerous spectacular caves, two of which - King Solomons and Marakoopa​ - are popular show caves open to the public. 

The King Solomons Cave tour and the Underground Rivers and Glow Worms Tour of Marakoopa Cave are suitable for all ages. The Great Cathedral and Glow Worms Tour of Marakoopa Cave Tour requires medium fitness.

The Park’s lesser known caves are the domain of recreational cavers who regard Mole Creek as a Mecca for their sport.

While a park pass is not required to visit the show caves, having a pass does entitle visitors to explore other scenic corners of this unusual and beautiful area. The picnic spot at Croesus Reserve on the banks of the Mersey is a picturesque location for lunch, and short walks through the lush forest provide plenty of opportunities for bird watching.

The Park is well equipped for day visitors with toilets, water, picnic shelters and wood and electric barbeques. A camera is essential to capture the beauty of the ferny glades, tall timber and fascinating underworld environment. 

The area has been captivating visitors for more than a century. The scenic drive through Chudleigh, Mole Creek and Caveside adds to the experience.

The streams feeding into Marakoopa Cave carry many insects and large amounts of plant material which form the basis of the food web for cave-dwelling animals. Many of these animals show fascinating adaptations for life in an environment where there is no light. Species which never leave their black homes, the troglobites, have no need for eyes and instead rely on long appendages, or feelers, help them find their way around. 

The glow worms in Marakoopa Cave are the larval form of a mosquito-like fly. Light is produced by a chemical reaction in special organs known at the malpighian tubes in the abdomen​. Adult females also produce light to attract male flies. The glow worm display in Marakoopa is the largest in a public access cave anywhere in Australia. 

Invertebrate cave fauna such as Cockerills cave beetle (Tasmanotrechus cockerilli), the cave harvestman (Hickmanoxyomma gibbergunyar) and the extremely rare cave false scorpion (Pseudotyrannochthonius typhlus) are endemic to the Mole Creek Karst National Park. The Tasmanian cave spider and the ancient mountain shrimp (Anaspides) can also be seen. ​

​Bats and frogs occur in the park and around cave entrances while brown trout (Salmo trutta) and blackfish (Gadopsismarmoratus) are among the many species which abound in the streams of the karst area.

The surrounding forest contains a range of more familiar wildlife. Mammals such as the pademelon, Bennetts wallaby and common wombat search for food in the undergrowth while up in the magnificent trees, birdlife is rich and varied. Owls hunt at night while wedge-tailed eagles (Aquila audax fleayi) and grey goshawks (Accipiternovae hollandiae), both endangered species, scan their domain for tasty morsels. 

Two species of land snakes have been recorded in the park: the tiger snake (Notechis ater) and the white-lipped snake (Drysdalia coronoides). The park also contains notable areas of white gum (Eucalyptus viminalis) in grassy and wet sclerophyll forests and swamp gum (Eucalyptus ovata) in shrubby forested areas.

For more information on our wildlife please see Tasmania's wildlife.

Visit our caring for wildlife page for more information on interacting with and protecting our native animals.

Historical records suggest that the Mole Creek region fell within the territory of the Northern nation of Aboriginal people. They sourced ochre from mines at Mount Vandyke and the Gog Range (Toolumbunner) via a system of well-developed tracks kept open by burning. A major route ran east-west between Quamby Bluff and Mount Vandyke, but other routes were also used for seasonal journeys for trading, hunting and ceremonial purposes. The Aboriginal cultural heritage in Tasmania provides a spiritual connection for Tasmanian Aboriginal people today and a valuable insight into one of the oldest living cultures in the world.​

The first European discovery of the Mole Creek karst system occurred in the 1830s by a group of Van Diemen's Land Company surveyors trying to locate a rail route to the west coast. In 1906 a paling splitter stumbled across King Solomons Cave.

The tourism potential of the caves was quickly realised and by 1912 Marakoopa Cave was open to the public. By the 1920s the Tourism Department had purchased several blocks of land adjacent to cave entrances and progressed the area as a tourist destination. 

Buy a map from TasMap

The Park is located 40 minutes west of Deloraine. Take the B12 from Deloraine via Mole Creek. The first turnoff is well sign-posted and leads to Marakoopa Cave, 330 Mayberry Road, Mayberry. The second turnoff is a further 7 km along the B12 and leads to King Solomons Cave, 1535 Liena Road, Liena. If you plan to visit both caves, it will take about 15 minutes to travel the distance between the two.


Where possible, please avoid driving in our reserves at night. You are sharing the roads with our native wildlife, so take it slow and watch out for animals on the road.

​​​Visitors to the Mole Creek Karst National Park do not require a park pass to tour the caves. However, a pass is required to explore other areas of the park. 

Parking at the upper carpark at Marakoopa is limited and the access road is narrow. Motor homes and articulated vehicles (caravans and camper trailers) must remain at the lower carpark near the ticket office. Allow time for, and be prepared to walk, the 800 metres to the cave (around 10-15 minutes).

Entrance to the caves is by tour only. Bookings are required for large groups.  Postcards and souvenirs are available at Marakoopa Cave. Petrol, accommodation and other supplies are available nearby at Mole Creek and Sheffield. 

​​​​This is a Fuel Stove Only Area. Fires are prohibited. Please see our Fuel Stove Only Areas webpage ​for more information.​​


​Find out other essential information for visiting Tasmania's parks and reserves on our know before you go section.

​The temperature in the caves is a cool 9 degrees Celsius. Visitors should dress accordingly. Walking shoes are recommended to navigate stairs in both caves. 

​There is a wheelchair accessible picnic area approximately 500 metres before the entrance to Marakoopa Cave, with picnic tables. There are also accessible sheltered picnic tables and toilets adjacent to the cave entrance carpark, although assistance may be required.

Unfortunately, the steps, uneven surface and restricted width of the paths within the caves means that the tours are not suitable for most mobility impaired people.

Experiences in Mole Creek Karst National Park

Child, Junee-Florentine caves

Experience Tasmania's spectacular cave systems through one of our guided tours.

North West, Launceston and North, Hobart and South

Caving

Experience Tasmania's spectacular cave systems through one of our guided tours.

Read more
Visitors exploring the cave features at Mole Creek Karst National Park

The spectacular show caves in the Mole Creek Karst National Park have been delighting visitors for decades, come and experience the underground landscapes of Marakoopa and King Solomons Caves.

Mole Creek Karst National Park

Mole Creek Karst - cave tours

The spectacular show caves in the Mole Creek Karst National Park have been delighting visitors for decades, come and experience the underground landscapes of Marakoopa and King Solomons Caves.

Read more
Wedding at Highfield Historic Site

Tasmania's parks and reserves can make for a beautiful backdrop for your special day. See some of our favourite locations for simple, outdoor wedding ceremonies, through to full packages offered by Highfield Historic Site.

East coast, Hobart and South, Launceston and North, North West

Weddings

Tasmania's parks and reserves can make for a beautiful backdrop for your special day. See some of our favourite locations for simple, outdoor wedding ceremonies, through to full packages offered by Highfield Historic Site.

Read more