Lee's Travel Blog

In this article I will inform you about the Blue Mountains. I’ll tell you what I think is worthwhile and what not. If you want to read the article about the Blue Mountains beforehand, I’ll link it here: Journey to Down Under – 2. Stage Blue Mountains

First, I’ll start with the clothes: If you go there in winter, it can get very cold there and very quickly. I advise you to bring a warm jacket, a warm sweater, a scarf, a cap and possibly some gloves. It is not uncommon for temperatures to drop from about ten to zero degrees. At night temperatures can even reach freezing point. That’s why you should always wear warm clothes! I speak from experience, because in the first night when we arrived in Katoomba, we froze ourselves half to death.

Now back to the essentials. I recommend that you definitely take a walk through Katoomba. There is actually only one long main street: the Katoomba Street, which is certainly worthwhile. To the left and right of it there are many small pretty shops, cafés and restaurants. If you walk on this street, you will feel like you are back in time. Katoomba reminded me very much of a Wild West village. In Katoomba I can recommend the Savoy Café. Sureya and I had breakfast there and we were completely satisfied with what we had got. I advise you to have a Brekkie (breakfast in Australian English), which also includes a Hash Brown. But I won’t tell you what a Hash Brown is. If you are brave enough, you can also try Vegemite. Vegemite is a kind of salty spread that Australians love. I tried it and I just found it disgusting! But convince yourself.

I would also recommend you to walk to the Echo Point Lookout and the Three Sisters. At Echo Point you’ll probably meet a lot of tourists, but it’s still worth it because the view is simply breathtaking. From Echo Point you can see the Blue Mountains in full splendour. On the horizon mountains and under the platform a valley. Everywhere nature as far as the eye can see. From Echo Point you can walk to the Three Sisters. The Three Sisters are a rock formation. It looks like three people. What I especially liked was that there were less tourists there and that you can get down a stairway to the Three Sisters.

Something you really need to do is the Prince Henry Cliffwalk. It starts at Scenic World, a funicular and incline, and continues to Leura, a neighboring village of Katoomba. On the way, you’ll pass about 100 Lookout points. Each of them offers a unique view of the Blue Mountains. If you make a small detour to the Amphitheater Walking Track, you’ll reach Bridal Veil Falls. An untouched spot of nature and we saw almost nobody on the way. You can really walk very relaxed and undisturbed. But beware, the trail is not for unexperienced hikers or people who don’t like to walk uphill. A little tip: Take enough water and snacks with you, as there are no wells and it can be very exhausting and you get hungry very quickly.

In Leura itself there is not so much to experience. In ten minutes you have seen everything. But there is a delicatessen store called Leura Gourmet, which looked from the outside very nice. Had we not already eaten, we would not have hesitated to buy our lunch there. I have only heard good things from Leura Gourmet.

Last but not least I recommend Wentworth Falls Lake. A beautiful big lake near Wentworth Falls. The lake is ideal for picnicking or just to relax. It is very quiet there and the lake itself is also perfect for swimming. Only not in winter, when the lake is very cold. Nevertheless I put my feet in the clean cold water because I love cold water.

Now I come to the point that I didn’t like so much. Fortunately there is almost nothing negative to report this time. The only negative was the Katoomba Falls. These were highly praised, however, you hardly see them and I have seen much more beautiful waterfalls in my life. They were really nothing special. The Katoomba Cascades are worthwhile rather. But also these I found only “quite okay”.

Another half negative point is the Scenic World. A privately operated tourist attraction offering a Scenic Cableway, Scenic Railway and Scenic Skyway. We would have liked to have taken the Scenic Railway, but it has just been renovated. We found the prices much too expensive. A day ticket costs 44-49 AUD, which is about 35-40 Swiss Francs. This was not worthwhile, as the trip with the Skyway took only ten minutes. But if all 3 means of transport had been available, we would have bought the day ticket. You might ask yourself why we wanted to take the Scenic Railway. The reason is that the Scenic Railway is the steepest funicular in the world, with a gradient of 52 degrees and a length of 310 meters. That’s why I really wanted to get on the funicular.

My conclusion about the Blue Mountains is: Totally worthwhile if you like hiking and enjoy the peace and quiet of nature. I really have almost nothing negative to report and would surely go there again to go with the Scenic Railway and explore the other hiking trails. If we had more time, we would have liked to see the Wentworth Falls. I only saw pictures of it and regret that we didn’t have enough time. If you are ever in this area, I strongly recommend you take a look at the Wentworth Falls.

If you have ever been there, I would like to know how you remember the Blue Mountains. I’d love to have a like and feedback and don’t forget to follow my blog if you like the content! So stay tuned!