Explore one of the great National Parks of Australia around Katoomba
Explore one of the great National Parks of Australia around Katoomba
If you want to explore one of the great National Parks of Australia but have limited time or don't have a car, then head for Katoomba. Katoomba is certainly no secret to residents of Sydney. When Sydneysiders feel the need to escape from the summer heat or the traffic and pollution of the city, they hop on a train and go to Katoomba. There really is no need to drive, because everything you want is at your doorstep in Katoomba.
The air is always cooler and fresher in Katoomba. You will feel a sense of cooling refreshment waft over you as soon as you get there, thanks to the higher elevation (a kilometer or 2500 ft above sea level) and the breezes that blow through the fragrant gum trees. A 2 minute walk from the platform and you are in downtown Katoomba and can take your pick of wonderful places to enjoy a cappuccino or a full meal at a sidewalk caf. By the time you're finished, you will be ready to discover why the landscape around Katoomba is among the most photographed in all of Australia.
Take a quick bus or taxi ride straight down the main road in town until you get to the point where you have to stop. You will then be at the edge of a vertical cliff over 550 feet (160+ meters) deep. Echo Point is the main lookout in town and a great place to start your exploration of the Blue Mountains. Go ahead and take a picture of the Three Sisters while you're there. Although tens of thousands of photographs of these three peaks have been taken over the years, each one is somehow unique.
If you like hiking (or bushwalking, as we say in Australia), you're going to love Katoomba. It could be said that Katoomba is the bushwalking capital of the country and has been for over a century and a half. From Echo Point, you can take the Giant Staircase to the base of the cliffs. The Federal Pass trail is one of the most popular trails in Australia if not the world, yet never feels overcrowded and is always immaculately maintained. The view up the cliffs from below is as breathtaking as it is from above, but from down here, you don't hear any sounds other than those that are made by nature.
If it's adventure you're looking for, then head back into town and arrange to take a rock climbing or abseiling lesson. These lessons are taught by experts and every safety precaution is taken. Although your instructor convinced you there was little or no real danger involved, it will be hard to convince yourself when you're hanging from the end of a rope hundreds of feet from the ground! If the wide, well-groomed trails are a little too luxurious for you and you want to plunge into the depths, then take a guided canyoning tour and get a rarely beheld close-up view of untouched wilderness.
Katoomba is so close to Sydney, you can do a lot in a single day. You've had such a great time, it would be a shame not to check into a Katoomba accommodation and stay for a night or two. You haven't yet seen Blackheath or Mt Victoria or taken a ride on the Scenic Railway, to name just a few of the attractions in and around Katoomba. Make the most of the time you've got. When you need to return to the city, you can be back in Sydney in a flash.
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