Mount Surprise is a historic rail town in the Gulf Savannah which is little more than a pub, and two petrol stations with a small store, a gem-
shop, a police station and two caravan parks.
Mount Surprise has a passenger rail service, The Savannahlander, with a weekly service (from March to December inclusive) from the city of
Cairns to
Einasleigh and
Forsayth to the west and return to
Cairns in the east. The town is near the
Undara Volcanic National Park and Forty Mile Scrub National Park.
Mount Surprise is known as an area which is excellent for
fossicking for gem stones.