Earlier in the year we took an ‘extended weekend’ trip to Queensland to visit some friends and on the first full day up there we decided to take a road trip to Byron Bay (one of my major bucket list items) and while there, they agreed to do a detour to Crystal Castle and Shambhala Gardens in Mullumbimby (another bucket list item, I LOVE my crystals!). 

After a short detour, and a quick drive up a mountain, we found ourselves at Crystal Castle, home of the largest crystals in the world. When we got to the gate, we saw the prices to enter ($39 each) and hubby and his mate decided that instead of walking around the gardens, they would go on a short road trip to find a waterfall and see if it was worth visiting with us again later. So Nicole and I ventured on, and as we are both studying, tickets were slightly cheaper at $35 each to enter the gardens. With your ticket you get a magazine which has a map, information on some of the crystals and major attractions at the gardens. 

We slowly strolled our way through to the Wings to Eternity mural, the Enchanted Cave (which is the largest Amethyst cave in the world), Buddha Walk, the Bamboo Forest, wandering through the southern hemisphere’s only Kalachakra World Peace Stupa, a project which was blessed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and the most exciting thing for me; to sit inside the ‘Dragon Egg’ which is a giant Amethyst cave! I gave a little squeal when I finally saw it and was mesmerised by its size and how beautiful it was.

After exploring the grounds some more – and getting lost on some back of the lot bush trail – we had a little rest in the cafe on site, grabbed a kombucha each (FYI $5.50 each as a heads up to give you an idea on pricing) and sat on a bench overlooking the mountain range with an abundance of crystals before us. It was extremely peaceful and relaxing, just the two of us (who had only met at 11pm the night before for the first time) just having some down time together. It was a great start to our mini holiday. 

To kill some more time while we waited for the boys, I decided to check out their crystal shop to see if I could add anything to my ever-growing collection back home. Unfortunately, the prices were a bit steep compared to what I usually get them for back home, so I couldn’t bring myself to spend that much on a crystal when I know what I can get them for back home. At the site, you can also get Aura Photos done ($60)

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After almost two hours at the gardens, the boys finally made it back from their own little adventure (which they had no luck with that waterfall, it was completely dried up from Summer) and then we headed off towards Byron Bay for the day.  

If you are in to crystals, meditation and spirituality, this is a great place to visit for the day, and I would have loved to have spent a little more time there if I was by myself just taking it all in, as I said earlier, I love my crystals and loved the vibe of the whole place. Who knows, maybe one day in the future if we live up that way, you may find me wandering around the gardens once a month by myself having the time of my life amongst all the beauty inside those gardens. Check out my video below for some more sites around Crystal Castle and Shambhala Gardens.