Explore Australia’s Blue Mountains
This is Australian life with dramatic scenery, waterfalls, forests, hiking tracks and picturesque villages. Bring your walking shoes.
A short drive or train ride from Sydney is the ideal antidote to the city’s hustle and bustle. In the Blue Mountains, indulge in dramatic scenery and delicious gastronomy. Enjoy laidback Australian lifestyle with nature thrown in – a relaxed pace of life, natural beauty and old-world charm.
Start at Katoomba to reach many of the area’s top attractions. Choose to take the steep passenger railway, skyway or cableway to experience a birds-eye view. Soak up the blue – the eucalypt forests release droplets of oil and when mixed with water and sunlight, this natural haze means you won’t need rose-tinted glasses.
This is a World Heritage area that demands exploration so plan on staying a few days. An unmissable sight is the Three Sisters which can be seen from various clifftops like Echo Point. For culture, the town of Leura epitomises Blue Mountain life. Enjoy a coffee in one of its cafés (the cakes are worth sampling too) and wander around some eclectic museums. Bygone Beauty’s Treasured Teapot Museum homes the world’s largest collection of more than 5,500 teapots and tea wares. Once in Leura, head to the Cascades to understand why this area is known as ‘The Jewel in the Mountains Crown’.
It’s not the only one - Wentworth Falls is also a treat for the senses. This beautiful town has built a lively community around a three-tiered waterfall, fed by Jamison Creek.