In Chillagoe#

Chillagoe was once a thriving mining town for a range of minerals, but now only a small zinc mine and a marble quarry remain, and population is not much over 200.

There is a bit of tourism because of the Chillagoe-Mungana Caves National Park containing limestone caves. The caves (reportedly almost 1000!), the spectacular karst landscape and the mining and smelting history are good tourist attractions, yet little visited: It takes over 3 hours from the coast (Cairns) to Chillagoe, so excursions from the coast often only go to Mareeba which is within one hour's reach of Cairns. Mareeba with the Granite Gorge, well-kept plantations and a bit of touristic infrastructure is thus the more obvious choice rather going as far as Chillagoe.