Sydney’s Most Popular Mountain Escape
Let’s face it, the beach is awesome, but sometimes it’s nice to get out of our oceanside bubble and breathe in some mountain air. If you are from the area, you have obviously heard of the Blue Mountains before, but if you’re a foreigner visiting Sydney for the first time, you might not know that less than 2 hours away from the city centre, you can find those astonishing mountains. This place is one of the most visited outside of Sydney, and due to covid there was pretty much no one around when I went there a few months ago. The Blue Mountains are so close to the city that some people just go there to spend the day and drive back before night time. My friend and I chose to go spend a long weekend there because we wanted to explore a bit slower, and we also wanted to see the sunrise from one of the many lookouts. In the following blog post, I’ll be sharing the main highlights of this region, but also a few lesser known spots, which hopefully will make you want to visit/return sometime soon.
Explore
The Blue Mountains
LOOKOUTS
ECHO POINT - Three Sisters
I decided to kick off this blog post with what’s probably the most famous view point in the area. No wonder why honestly… the view is simply breathtaking, especially when there’s no one around (I heard this place can get packed really early in the morning, but we had it all to ourselves). Echo Point lookout is where you can best admire the rock formation called Three Sisters (3 rocky pillars that stand out from the valley). Also I was wondering where the Blue Mountains got their name from; well this became very apparent as soon as I got there. The blue haze down the valley is magical.
Govett’s Leap
That one is by far the best sunrise spot anyone could ever ask for. I mean, I honestly had no words when the sun popped out behind the mountains, letting us discover the beautiful landscape and the waterfall in the background.
There are lots of other beautiful viewpoints in the area, which are almost all the starting point of a few hiking trails. I’ve decided to only highlight these two in this blog post because they were the most stunning, and also because I didn’t have time to see them all. The next time I’m there, I’ll hopefully get to see Lincoln’s Rock and Blackheath Lookout.
WATERFALLS/HIKES
Katoomba Falls
You can hike all the way down to Katoomba Falls directly from Echo Point lookout. I heard the view is beautiful down there, but the hike is quite steep. We were conscious of time and had a few other hikes planned over the weekend so we decided to walk at the top of the waterfall instead. The starting point of this easy trail can be found right behind Prince Henry Picnic Area and it should take you about 10 minutes to reach the first lookout.
Wentworth Falls
Next on the list is Wentworth Falls, and it was one of my favourites. Sadly, we wanted to do the hike from Wentworth Falls to the Valley of Waters, but a portion of the trail is now closed due to some heavy floods. Nonetheless, the short hike (1-hour return) down to Wentworth Falls was really nice and the views were stunning.
Empress Falls
There are a lot of waterfalls in the area, and one that I really wanted to see is Empress Falls. It’s very close to Wentworth Falls and is a popular canyoning spot. The total hike duration is also around 1 hour and is relatively easy (although there are a lot of steps, and those can be quite slippery).
MinNehaha Falls
This one is a bit off the beaten tracks and was recommend to us by a fellow travel blogger, Amandine. The starting point of this hike is located here, and the hike also takes about 1 hour return (allow more time if you’d like to swim there and take your time to enjoy the area). I highly recommend this one if you’d like to explore somewhere a bit less touristy.
Grand Canyon Walking Track
This hiking trail is the most popular in the area, and I quickly realised why. The hike starts from Evans Lookout near Blackheath before you slowly make your way down the canyon. The microclimate down there is amazing, and very refreshing. The total duration of the hike is around 3 to 4 hours and you’ll 100% need lots of water when making your way up so plan accordingly.
Hanging Rock
By far my favourite spot of the trip! My friend and I really pushed our limits at the end of a day packed with hiking activities. It turns out the weather was quite average the day before, so we ended up doing most of our hikes on our last day. On our way back to the city, we drove by the starting point of this trail and decided we wanted to give it a shot before sunset. It wasn’t easy (we hiked 21km in total that day!) but I’m so glad we made it.
You’ll need to park at the end of Ridgewell Road, and the walk along the Burramoko fire trail (10km return). All the hiking websites state that it takes about 2 hours return, but if you truly want to hike all the down to the Hanging Rock and back, I’d allow at least 3 hours. The trail is straight and quite boring to be honest. You’ll be wondering if it’s worth it the whole time, but trust me it is worth it. The views at the end are spectacular!
SPA
Japanese Baths
After such physical efforts, we all deserve a break don’t we? The best place to do so is located further north near a town called Lithgow. The Japanese Baths are located next to Lake Lyell and the views on the valleys are beautiful and calming. Bookings are essentials so I’d suggest sending their team an email to know their next availability. While they offer treatments, guests also have the possibility to buy entry tickets to the baths for 3 hours (which is much cheaper than a treatment).
RESTAURANTS
Hydro Majestic
One of my friends told me that one of her traditions when she goes to the Blue Mountains is to go for High Tea at the Hydro Majestic, a stunning hotel in Katoomba with amazing views on the mountains. This got me intrigued, mostly because I had never done that before, and the setting seemed pretty incredible for a first experience. When we visited, prices were $65 for the high tea or $79 if we wanted to add bubbles (which we obviously did! 🤪) There was also a pianist playing some of my favourite songs in the background, which I really liked.
Don’t forget to make a reservation in advance, the place tends to get booked out!
Sorensens Glasshouse
This beautiful brunch spot is located just outside of Leura, the cutest town in the area. Their food and coffee was really good and the place was equally beautiful. It’s located in the middle of the trees, in a peaceful residential area, and they also sell plants and hand crafted souvenirs.
I wish I had spent more time exploring the town of Leura because it is truly beautiful and there are a lot of other restaurants I wish I had tried (main ones below).
Next time!
Leura Garage
Lily’s Pad
The Oak Brasserie
