For visitors who are on a quick visit and don’t have much time to spare, here are some quick activities to enjoy whilst staying in Katoomba.
Echo Point
Echo Point in Katoomba gives you a good view to the Three Sisters (which once were possibly more but have eroded or collapsed over time), with bushwalks branching off to them and the surrounds, and views across Jamison Valley. It’s also fairly tourist-full, but there are little lookouts all around, as well as the obligatory information and gift shop. If you’re feeling adventurous, take the Giant Stairway down to the valley floor.
Visitors can come back at night-time to view the Three Sisters floodlit powerfully against the night sky.
Cliff Drive
Cliff Drive is a road with quite a few lookouts, and is fairly quiet. If you want to get away from the tourists at Echo Point, it’s just a short drive away, and you won’t encounter many people; but you will get to see amazing vistas. Cahill’s Lookout has two lower lookouts apart from the main one, with views in different directions. On a calm day, stand there and hear sounds from way across Megalong Valley, from waterfalls rushing after rain to lawnmowers or birds in the distance.
Scenic World
Scenic World can be expensive and tourist-filled, but it’s worth doing. It houses the Scenic Railway, the Scenic Skyway, the Scenic Cableway, and the Scenic Walkway. To save money, you can combine trips, e.g. go down by Railway and come back by Cableway (although coming back up by Railway is possibly scarier).
The Railway is the steepest incline railway in the world, taking you down through a cliff tunnel dripping with ferns into the rainforest. It’s only a short trip, but it’s scary enough going both down and up for thrill-seekers. Also for thrill-seekers, the Skyway suspends you above ravines and waterfalls, with the world-first Electro-Sceniglass floor allowing a view straight down into the valley. Yes, you can stand on it. No, you cannot fall through it.
Going with tradition, the Cableway is the steepest aerial car in the Southern Hemisphere. At the bottom of the ride, the Walkway meanders along boardwalks through the rainforest, passing old coal mining relics and information.
Katoomba Street
Katoomba Street, the main street and the hub of Katoomba, is on a steep hill. It’s a nice walk up and down either side, browsing through cafés, bookshops, jewellery stores, and hippie clothing.
Katoomba Street is also home to the Winter Magic Festival in June, a celebration of the Winter Solstice when locals showcase their talents, be it musical, acrobatic, or storytelling abilities.
Blackheath
There are way too many attractions, bushwalks, lookouts, and activities in and around Katoomba to list them all. If you are only staying at Katoomba for a day, you can take a short drive to Blackheath and look at Govett’s Leap or Evans Lookout, with some more spectacular views. Evans Lookout overlooks Grose River Valley; from there, you can walk to Govett’s Leap, the Grand Canyon, or the valley floor.
Yulefest
Christmas in July is a Blue Mountains tradition. December in Katoomba is a time of heat and flies; however, during July, you can stay in participating hotels and warm yourself by a log fire, eating traditional dinners by a lit-up tree and enjoying entertainment and visits by Santa.
Janina-Monique Wildewood - My passions are reading, travel, and research, and to be able to combine all these with my main passion, writing, is even better! I ...
