The Blue Mountains are worthy of more than a day trip from Sydney.
What makes the Blue Mountains unique?
Once regarded as an impassable barrier to the New South Wales interior, the Blue Mountains is now Sydney’s favourite escape. To city types, it’s a place of homely B&Bs, friendly cafés and muddy hikers’ boots. To those from further afield, it’s a World Heritage region packed with some of the most staggering gorge and valley views imaginable.
The ‘blue’ in the name comes from the sun meeting the oil from the eucalyptus leaves, bestowing a near-permanent blue sheen. The ‘mountains’ part is a mistake – the area is actually a high plateau cut through by rivers and creeks.
Often done as an overly-rushed day trip from Sydney, the area comes into its own when you’ve got the time to spend walking through those views rather than taking snatched photos of them.
A walk through the Blue Mountains’ highlights
The inevitable starting place is Echo Point in Katoomba, where the archetypal postcard view of the Jamison Valley unfurls, the Three Sisters rock formation framing it to the left.
From there, the Giant Stairway descends into the valley via hundreds and hundreds of thigh-straining steps. At the bottom, a walking trail heads through the eucalyptus forest, accompanied by riotous birdsong.
Around 90 minutes later, there’s the choice of either ascending a similar number of steps, or taking the world’s steepest railway back to the top. The Scenic Railway has genuine rollercoaster qualities to it, and is part of Scenic World. A $61 day pass will also allow access to the Scenic Skyway – a cable car across the Katoomba Falls. At the other end, it’s a short and spectacular walk along the clifftops back to Echo Point.
A detour to the world’s oldest caves
The Jenolan Caves are thought to be the oldest cave system in the world, and are packed with impressive shawl-like formations, stalagmites, stalactites and sparkling crystals. The ticketing system is needlessly complicated, but suffice to say that tours of different caves run at different times of the day, and it’s worth checking ahead which is going when. The Chifley Cave is a good all-rounder with a bit of everything, while the Lucas Cave wins on scale.
Where to see kangaroos in the Blue Mountains
The lower Blue Mountains are generally skipped in favour of the more spectacular views higher up. But the section of the Blue Mountains National Park near Glenbrook has some beautiful walks to lookouts over the Nepean River and some gorgeous swimming holes. It’s also the best place to see kangaroos – they’re practically guaranteed in the Euroka Clearing.
Where to shop in the Blue Mountains
The Leura Mall is basically the village’s main street, lined by agreeably independent shops. Bijou offers colourful jewellery, Moontree is all candles, while the Teddy Sinclair Man Cave has everything manly from beard wax and wallets to vintage compasses.
Katoomba’s main street, meanwhile, mixes the quirky with the useful. So slightly theatrical hat shop, The Hattery, mixes in with numerous outdoor gear stores, such as Mountain Designs.
Blue Mountains accommodation recommendations
Of the 26 towns and villages in the Blue Mountains, Katoomba, Leura or Blackheath makes the best base.
In Katoomba, 14 bedroom heritage house joint Echoes has a fine onsite restaurant, gorgeous paintings of architecture from around the world and adorable bay windows. But it’s the balconies with jaw-dropping valley or cliff views that make it.
Of Katoomba’s many B&Bs, the Kurrara Historic Guesthouse has the heritage – it has been hosting visitors since 1902. Four poster beds, well-stacked bookshelves, electric blankets, and lounges kitted out with board games add thoughtful charm to the old world looks.
The Fairmont Resort in Leura is brilliant for families, with two games rooms containing large soft play areas for different age groups. There’s both an indoor and outdoor pool, while there’s a golf course next door.
More New South Wales travel
Other New South Wales travel stories on Planet Whitley include:
- Climbing Mt Kosciuszko – Australia’s highest mountain.
- Enjoying nature in Murray Valley National Park.
- Why Ballina is more than just a gateway town for Byron Bay.
- Why visit Wategos Beach in Byron Bay?
- How travelling with kids makes Sydney different.
