Three British backpackers have been found safe and well - aside from a bad case of leeches - after getting lost hiking on Mt Sorrow in Cape Tribulation on Saturday. 

The three men, all cousins from Wales aged in their early 20s, set out to hike to the summit of Mt Sorrow from PK’s Jungle Village on Saturday morning. 

After reaching the summit they began the descent but missed a trek marker and become lost in the extremely steep,  densely forested terrain. 

The men managed to make a call for help with a mobile phone as as dense cloud cover set in, drenching the mountain with heavy rain.

The Queensland Government Air Rescue helicopter was deployed twice to search for the missing men but the cloud cover severely hampered visibility, making the search fruitless even after they built a signal fire.

Ultimately it was local knowledge that led to the men’s safe return as Cape Tribulation man Kane Trezise led SES personnel in a search up the slope of the mountain after night fell, finding the lost trio ‘very wet and very cold but extremely glad to see us’ at the top of the hiking trail. 

The three men were uninjured but had picked up plenty of leeches and were returned to safety at around 11pm. 

Mr Trezise, who knows the area's rainforests intimately, said it was easy to get lost on Mt Sorrow and hikers could help stay safe by taking reasonable precautions. 

“The area’s very wet, very steep and it can get very foggy,” he said.

“It’s a great walk - normally the view from the top of Mt Sorrow is spectacular but the track up and down has a lot of goat trails leading off and it’s very easy to get lost.

“If you get lost, the best thing to do as soon as you realise you’re lost is stay put and try to get contact out - don’t keep going further.

“Another thing that can really help is to check in at one of the local motels and sign out when you get back.”