The Blue Mountains quickly become one of our most loved spots in New South Wales (maybe actually our favourite, but we still have so much of NSW to see)
We spent a few nights here, camping at the Katoomba Falls Tourist Park, just across from Katoomba Falls.
We visited right after some serious floods that devastated the area, so a lot of the walks, hikes and lookouts that we had planned to do were closed. Nevertheless, it was still beautiful and we thoroughly enjoyed our time there. Here are the things we got up to.
Katoomba Fall & Cascades
One of our favourites, this easy 40-ish minute walk takes you to serval lookout points of the falls, the Blue Mountains landscape and to the below cascades. In our opinion the best lookout was the Orphan Rock which was a little hidden off the main path as you had to walk through a rock formation to find it. It offers fantastic views for sunset and of the Scenic World Cable car (see pictures below)
Image takes at the bottom of the cascades walk
Echo Point Lookout & The Three Sisters
This is the main look out to see the famous Three Sisters. It is very easy to get to and is wheelchair accessible the whole way. There are multiple different lookout points from the Echo Point area so you can see the incredible landscape and the Three Sisters from different angles.
There is only a small amount of parking in the area, and it is quite expensive ($8 eight per hour). We recommend going for sunrise as there are far less people around and the morning light is stunning on the landscape. We also went at sunset and quickly left as there were hundreds of people around which made it a bit difficult to get a park, move around the platforms and get a decent picture.
Anvil Rock Lookout & The Wind Swept Caves
You can do two short walks from the one carpark. One takes you to Anvil Rock lookout, which offers 360° views over the Blue Mountains and surrounds. From the top of this lookout you can see the Sydney CBD outline on a clear day. Its an easy 5-10 minute walk with a few stairs.
The Second walk takes you to the wind swept caves which is a natural rock formation. It's only a 5 minute walk there and is very easy so it's worth the visit if you're in the area.
The road there is mostly sealed, with a gravel track for the last few kilometres, but is still easily manageable for all types of cars.
Scenic World
One of the only paid attractions in the blue mountains area but was very much worth the cost.
We paid $45 per person as we chose the early bird session (9am only) which includes unlimited rides on the Skyway, The Scenic Railway, Cable Car and the scenic rainforest walk.
The pass is valid for the whole day, so we did each attraction multiple times so we definitely got our money's worth. We stayed for about three hours and enjoyed a pizza and drink at the top for lunch at one of the cafés.
A unique part about the park is that offers alternate views of the three sisters and orphan rock from the bottom of the valley and from the the top in the skywalk. It is also the only way to get a front on view of Katoomba Falls without walking to the base of the falls
Image one of the Skyway taken from Orphan Rock Lookout, from Katoomba Falls walk. Image two, taken from inside the Skywalk of Katoomba Falls
Govett's Leap
This is a MUST see if you're visiting the Blue Mountains. The lookout is directly in front of the car park so very little walking is required, however if you want even better views we recommend a few of the walks.
The car park lookout overlooks most of the valley wit spectacular views over the blue mountains and also towards Bridal Veil Falls (Picture 1)
For an even better view of Bridal Veil Falls, We recommend you take the short but steep, 10 minute walk down to lookout with several vantage points along the way. (pre warning, many many stairs!) It's well worth the walk with an almost front view of the falls. We were very lucky on the day and were treated with a rainbow in the falls as the light reflected through the water. (picture 2)
The walk to Horseshoe Falls leaves from the same point, there are some steps. Again there are multiple lookouts along the way, however you don’t get a clear straight on a view of the falls, only an angled side view. For a straight on view of the falls you would need to take the longer loop track around to Pulpit Rock, however this walk was closed at the time we were there.
It is a very popular spot, but has plenty of parking (Free) and also has a visitors centre that can help if you need any information.
Wentworth falls & Princess Rock Lookout
The walk to the Falls is super easy if you’re just going to the lookout, just 300m from the carpark. We also walked down to the Princes Rock Lookout which had an even better view of the waterfall. However, we went right after a week of heavy rains so it was very slippery, wet and muddy so we recommend you wear a good pair of sturdy hiking boots. The walk down wasn’t too hard however, it is pretty much all staircase. 10 mins down and 10 up.
Sublime Point
Sublime Point offers 180° views of the Blue Mountains with Wentworth falls on one side and The Three Sisters on the other. It would be a great spot for sunset in winter as the sun would set behind the three sisters. We didn't spend much time here, or take any pictures, but it is still a great spot to stop to see uninterrupted views of the mountains. It's a very easy, but steep walk down to lookout. Not much parking available at the top but it is free.
Cahills Lookout
Cahill’s Lookout is just one of many lookouts in this area. The parking is limited, but there is plenty of room down the street if you don't mind the short walk. It was a very popular spot for sunset so make sure you get there early if you want to get a shot without a lot of people.
Hargraves Lookout
Not a bad look out but definitely not one of the best compared to others in the area. It mostly overlooks farmland in the valley. The gravel road to the top is accessible by all cars however there are a lot of potholes in the road so be cautious where you drive. Overall it’s nice if you have the extra time but I wouldn’t make this a priority if you’re only visiting the Blue Mountains for a short few days.
Lincolns Rock
One of the easiest walks we did. The car park is only a short 10 minute walk to the cliff's edge.
If you want that classic, “sitting on the edge of the rock shot” we have all seen on Instagram, this is the place for it . However you’re gonna have to do some pretty sketchy, risky stuff to get it so we opted to be safe and not to take it. However with some clever angling you can still take the shot while not being near the edge, you just need to find the right rock.
There is not a lot of parking available and it’s quite a busy and popular spot so be sure to get there early for sunrise and sunset as it fills up fast.
Jellybean Pool
We visited Jellybean Pool and Blue Pool on the same day as they are only a short drive apart from each other. It's not a bad spot, however it’s not really worth visiting unless you’re actually interested in going for a swim as it’s just a basic water hole.
It’s about a 10 minute walk down from the carpark, with limited parking so if your going on a hot summer's day make sure you arrive early.
It costs $8 entry for a day pass, unless you have a park pass already.
Black Cockatoo Bakery (Lawson)
Ok this isn't a “location” or attraction but my god the food was good. We stopped here after we did the Lawson Falls Loop and had the best donuts of our life. The pizza was also delicious and we highly recommend you make a stop here on your way through.
Pool of Siloam
This is one of the walks we randomly stumbled across. We came to this area to do the Gordon Falls, however that was closed due to the floods, on the way back to the car we noticed the path down and we were so glad we decided to do this walk as it was my all time favourite walk in the area.
It’s a 460m staircase path all the way down to the bottom of the pool. The staircase starts off gentle but descends to be a very steep area near the end, and can be quite muddy so wear your good hiking boots.
At the bottom you’re treated to a beautiful pool with a cascading waterfall. It was a very quiet spot, and we didn't see any advertisements or mentions of the pool in any of the brochures or tourism material so it seems to be a well kept secret.
The walk back is a bit tough but 100% worth it - all in all about a 30 minute walk.
Federal Falls - From Orange
Okay, so this one isn't actually in the Blue Mountains, but we drove to Orange to do this hike, and felt like we had to include it somewhere. (Orange is about a 2 hour drive from the Blue Mountains)
This waterfall can be done from two paths either a 4.2 km loop or a 3.6 km return walk.
If you're planning on doing the 4.2 km loop, we recommend starting from the southern walk entrance as it is less steep heading to the falls and then return via the northern path.
When we were there the 4.2km walk was partially closed due to the weather, so we did the 3.6 km there and back. The walk starts fairly easy as you descend down the rainforest. The last 400m however can be challenging as there are some steep sections of stairs, there is a handrail to help you in the more challenging steep parts, some clambering over rocks is required.
At the end of the path you will find yourself at the bottom of the waterfall, you can walk right up to the base, but be very careful as the rocks at the bottom are incredibly slippery. We did the walk on a foggy, cold, slightly wet day. The view from the bottom of the falls was decent but it would’ve been better on a clearer or sunny day.
Our Top Recommendations
There are so many things to do in this area, so if you're only planning on stopping for a day or 2, these are our top 5 things you shouldn't miss.
Govett's Leap
Echo Point Lookout
Pool Of Siloam
Katoomba Falls Walk
Scenic World
There were so many things that we wanted to do in the area that were closed, here are a few that are not currently open. For the current closures check out the NSW Parks app.
** Blog written as of July 2022
Pulpit Rock Walk
The Grand Canyon Walk
Three Sisters Walk
Gordon Falls
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