Not so far from Sydney Center are the Blue Mountains, a place I was completely unaware of, but I was pleased to learn about. The Blue Mountains seem to be an attraction for travelers visiting Sydney and they are definitely worth it. I have visited the place on my own and here’s how I did it.
From Sydney to Katoomba train station
Getting to the Blue Mountains is easy by train even though it takes a long trip, approximately 2h30. The journey 1-way costs less than 8 AUD, so I thought it was actually a good price for such a long trip. The first stop was in Blacktown where I had to change trains to a long-distance train that had toilets inside. The trip itself isn’t amazing, the landscape isn’t fascinating and there is nothing that captivated my senses. Except for a part of the journey where I was able to see a bunch of Kangaroos hanging around a field right next to the train tracks. That was a cool sight.
From Katoomba train station to the Three Sisters
Katoomba is a small town with a tourist center where there is an area with lots of restaurants, souvenir shops, etc… Tourists come here because of the Blue Mountains and all they offer.
From Katoomba train station you should head to the Three Sisters. I saw a hop-on, hop-off bus, but there is also a public bus that runs pretty frequently. I decided to walk from the train station to the Three Sisters as it is about a 30-minute walk away, which is fine cause the place is very quiet and chilled for a walk. The bus from the train station to the Three Sisters is about 2,8 AUD per trip and you can use the Opal card ( the card for public transportation in Sydney) the same one I used to board the train.
Blue Mountains: The Three Sisters
The Three Sisters consist of 3 rocks standing like pinnacles just before the forest that will cover all your sight. They stand imponent and beautifully in an amazing landscape with several slopes and cliffs seen far away. What a sight! The forest looks huge and never-ending, it is truly impressive and beautiful. In the Blue Mountains, there are many forest trails and you can spend all your day walking those trails so you have to make some decisions.
Trekking around the Three Sisters
I spent hours and hours walking in the area and it was very rewarding as the view made up for the tiredness. First I headed to the little bridge that connects to one of the “sisters”. The bridge was closed but I think it doesn’t make such a big difference as it is tiny, so still worth the little walk to the sisters even if the bridge isn’t open to the public. There were some other viewpoints on that path which I made sure not to miss.
From the Three Sisters to Katoomba Falls
From the Three Sisters themselves, I decided to walk all the way to Katoomba Falls. The walk is made through a very good path, easy and pleasant. On the path, it is possible to see the Three Sisters from different angles and further ahead, the scenic cable car. This cable car connects both edges of the Blue Mountains slopes through a privileged view of the main waterfall. I didn’t hop on the cable car because I thought it was too expensive, something like 50 AUD. I’m fine with walking and enjoying the views along the way instead.
Katoomba Falls
So first, I found the “beginning” of Katoomba Falls, a kinda small cascade where families were playing and getting refreshed from the heat. It gets very hot in Sydney during summer…
While walking I kept seeing a path that looked pretty far but seemed to have a nice viewpoint of Katoomba Falls, so I followed the path until I found it haha. Be aware that there are so many different trails at the Blue Mountains! You have to make decisions, and I advise on making them before, or just going with your instinct like I did.
Katoomba waterfall is splendid. It stands really tall amongst all that green scenery and it is stunning to look at. It made the view even more precious to see the cockatoos flying around and echoing their loud chirps. They made all the scenery more special while a rainbow was formed down there where the sun hits the water, what a whimsical view. I was delighted with this view so I was sure I had to find those paths on the other side of the mountain. So I did. The cable car must also offer a hell of a view as it crosses right in front of the waterfall. It also gives the landscape a nice twist I confess haha.
So, there is a cable car and a funicular. They have different routes and lead to different places. Basically, I trekked all the way down to the place where the funicular stops at the bottom of the cliff. It was such a long trek… On this day at the Blue Mountains, I started to walk at 11.30 am and stopped at 5 pm, obviously with a lot of stops along the way.
So, this other path, opposite to the waterfall gives another angle to it, almost in front of it. Seeing the cable car back and forth along the landscape is also very scenic.
Scenic World Blue Mountains
Down there, at the bottom, and where the funicular stops, is a dinosaur park. Apparently, this one is a Jurassic forest. Very entertaining for the kids I would say. They spread dinosaurs along the vale, dinosaur eggs, and the fake animals were making Jurassic sounds scaring some kids away haha. Pretty cool as they were placed along the forest.
If you are expecting to get a lift up and don’t do the hike all the way to the top, you will have to pay the full ticket price of the funicular. They don’t sell one-way only tickets! So yeah, all the way up with my own legs it was haha.
My only problem was actually water. I was running out of water and walking all the way back without it would be tough. Luckily, at the bottom, there were some girls selling drinks and ice cream. But not lucky for me as they didn’t take my cash to pay for a water bottle. They only accept cards. I was actually very surprised that they refused to sell me WATER! They would have me die of thirst on my way up, so inhumane!!! I had the cash just there, there was nowhere else down there where to get water, supposedly, and they refused to sell me a bottle. Wow shocking.
Fortunately, I met a ranger in the dinosaur vale and she told me there was a water refilling station by the funicular, so I went on a 20-minute walk to this station to fill my bottle and rest my mind about my trip back. Once I got to the end of the path, there was actually a guy selling drinks, from the same company as the girls I saw before. He tried to help me find the refilling station, but he couldn’t so, guess what, he offered me one water bottle because water is essential he claimed. Faith in humanity is restored! I would have paid in cash, but he refused it, I told him what had happened just before… It was very kind of him and now I was not worried about water anymore cause the way up is very tiring!!
If not for the water I wouldn’t have bothered to see the dinosaur vale. I mean yeah cool, but I had walked such a long distance already… I would have skipped it. However, for kids, this is a very interesting place.
I ended the day at the Blue Mountains seeing the cutest birds, a bright red scared parrot, and white cockatoos that were rooming around people that were feeding them bread. They are so cute OMG!! After the grueling day, I headed to the bus stop because I couldn’t handle walking any longer, so I went back to the train station by bus.
Before boarding the train back to Sydney, I stopped at Yellow Deli which has some delicious and not overpriced sandwiches. The decor of the restaurant is very cool, rustic, and cozy, reminding me of some ancient times when cowboys roomed around (not in this area of the world I assume ahah).
And that was it! Headed back to Sydney from the Blue Mountains at around 6 pm after a day of beautiful nature views. Totally recommend this trip AND TOTALLY DOABLE ON YOUR OWN terms.
Check also the Sydney Beaches I visited in the previous article HERE!
