A highlight of any trip to Port Douglas, Australia, north of Cairns, is a trip into dense and primeval Daintree Rainforest. Supposedly 16 times older than the Amazon and a UNESCO World Heritage site, Daintree is home to rare plants like giant strangler figs and dinosaur trees. Not only is the forest rich with bird life, but you might also spot pythons, lizards, frogs, the sky-blue Ulysses butterfly, and, this being Oz, crocodiles.

Most visitors check out Daintree on day trips, but if

A highlight of any trip to Port Douglas, Australia, north of Cairns, is a trip into dense and primeval Daintree Rainforest. Supposedly 16 times older than the Amazon and a UNESCO World Heritage site, Daintree is home to rare plants like giant strangler figs and dinosaur trees. Not only is the forest rich with bird life, but you might also spot pythons, lizards, frogs, the sky-blue Ulysses butterfly, and, this being Oz, crocodiles.

Most visitors check out Daintree on day trips, but if you're wise, you'll spend a night or two in the bush at the Daintree Eco Lodge & Spa. Fifteen treehouse-style suites sit high in the canopy connected by elevated walkways, so you'll always have good views of those birds and butterflies. This isn't your neighborhood treehouse. Rooms have marble floors and the furniture is created from indigenous woods. Many of the units also have Jacuzzis and screened-in balconies. Yet, to be honest, you'll be spending very little time indoors.

The reason we chose it as one of our top eco-resorts is its partnership with the local Aborigine Kuku Yalanji people. Aboriginal guides share their knowledge of Dreamtime and living in nature as they guide guests on walks through the rainforest. You'll stop at a waterfall to meditate, sniff a nest of green ants (said to cure a stuffy nose), and try your hand at Aboriginal painting. This is not some hokey Hula dance for tourists, but a deep understanding of Australia's original settlers.

The owners go out of the way to provide other excursions in the region, like taking a boat trip down the Daintree River, where you're almost guaranteed a run-in with a croc, horseback riding in the valley, even going scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef, just offshore. When you return, you can wash down with one of the Vichy showers at the spa and have a dinner of tropical reef fish, a bounty of Queensland fruit, and nuts, berries, leaves, and other produce found on property. The day is finished once you've had your dessert of rich date pudding and you can sit in silence listening to the strange, mysterious, and oh-so-alluring sounds of the rainforest at night.