New South Wales · Attraction
Wellington Caves
400 million years underground
schedule 1 min read / Updated Jun 2026
Located 8 kilometres south of Wellington and roughly 80 kilometres from Dubbo, Wellington Caves is one of eastern Australia's most significant limestone cave systems and fossil sites. Guided tours wind through Cathedral Cave and Gaden Cave past enormous stalagmites and stalactites, while a Fossil Discovery Lab lets visitors examine Pleistocene megafauna remains unearthed from the reserve.
The Wiradjuri people knew these caves, calling them Mulwang, long before Europeans arrived. The first fossil bones discovered in Australia were found here in 1830 by George Ranken, including remains of diprotodon and giant kangaroo. Cathedral Cave, the showpiece of the reserve, opened for guided public tours in 1885 and features a 15-metre-tall stalagmite known as the Altar along with the dramatic Thunder Cave chamber.
A modern Visitor Experience Centre houses a cafe, a museum exhibition, and a Discovery Classroom where families can take hands-on fossil lab sessions. An above-ground Fossil Trail is free to walk and allows visitors to survey limestone outcrops where 400-million-year-old marine invertebrate fossils are visible in the rock. The site also has a caravan park and motel for those wanting to stay overnight.
All cave tours require enclosed non-slip footwear. Pre-booking is strongly recommended during school holidays.
Scenic views
Lookouts near Wellington Caves.
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