New South Wales (Sydney Region)
Katoomba

Katoomba is the main town of the mountains, it is built on several hills which on one side plummet 600m into the Jamieson Valley. The town has been a favorite resort for the people of Sydney since the 19th century when a steam train service brought people into the area. Today the town can still be accessed by trains which leave from central station in Sydney or by a number of coach companies which offer day trips departing from Circular Quay.

Katoomba is the perfect place from which to explore the Blue Mountains, Echo Point being the most popular lookout with its view across the Three Sisters, a railway which drops 250m down the cliff wall is claimed to be the worlds steepest and the Skyway, a cable car which hangs over the abyss is a great way to view the surrounds. To the east are the famous Wentworth Falls which are the highest in the area with a drop of 270m.

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Katoomba is the biggest town in the Blue Mountains and the area's commercial heart, is also the best located, though for all its surrounding charms, café culture and secondhand clothes and bookshops, it can still seem a little raw and characterless. When the town was discovered by fashionable city dwellers in the late nineteenth century, the grandiose Carrington Hotel, prominently located near the train station on the main strip, Katoomba Street, was the height of elegance, with its leadlighting and wood panelling. The Carrington Hotel built in 1880 is the oldest in the mountains, it has a grandeur interior with high ceilings and guests through the years have included royalty and the rich and famous.

It has been beautifully renovated and now has accommodation, a restaurtant and two coctail bars. Also worth checking out on the main street is the Paragon Café further downhill at 65 Katoomba St (Tues–Sun 10am4pm), with its listed Art Deco interior and fabulous window and counter display of handmade chocs.

Echo Point
A 25-minute walk south from the Katoomba train station (or by the Mountainlink bus departing daily 8am-2pm from outside the Savoy Theatre) will bring you to Echo Point, the location of the information centre (daily 9am-5pm; tel 4782 0756). From here you have breathtaking vistas that take in the Blue Mountains' most famous landmark, the Three Sisters (910m). These three gnarled rocky points take their name from an Aboriginal Dreamtime story which relates how the Katoomba people were losing a battle against the rival Nepean people: the Katoomba leader, fearing that his three beautiful daughters would be carried off by the enemy, turned them to stone, but was tragically killed before he could reverse his spell. They have stood here ever since, subjected to the indignities of persistent abseilers and kept awake at night by spectacular floodlighting. 

The Three Sisters are at the top of the Giant Stairway, the beginning of the very steep stairs into the three-hundred-metre-deep Jamison Valley, where there are several walking tracks to places with such intriguing names as Orphan Rock and Ruined Castle. There's a popular walking route, taking about two hours and graded medium, down the stairway and partway along the Federal Pass to the Landslide and then taking the Scenic Railway back up to the ridge.

The Scenic Railway at the end of Violet Street (daily 9am-5pm; last train up leaves at 4.50pm; $3, $4.50 return) can spare you entirely from the trek down into the Jamison Valley. Originally built to carry coal, this funicular railway glides down an impossibly steep gorge to the valley floor. Even more vertiginous is the Skyway (daily 9am-5pm; $4.50), a rickety-looking cable-car contraption that starts next to the railway and travels 350m across to the other side of the gorge and back again - you can't actually get off - giving those who can bear to look a bird's-eye view of Orphan Rock, Katoomba Falls and the Jamison Valley. The Scenic Railway complex features some divinely tacky structures from the 1970s, including a greasy-spoon revolving restaurant with great views.

Edge Maxvision Cinema
The Edge Maxvision Cinema, at 225-237 Great Western Highway (tel 4782 8928), has a huge six-storey cinema screen. The cinema was created as a venue to show The Edge - The Movie, a visually stunning introduction to the ecology of the Blue Mountains - and the joys of canyoning (daily 10am, 11.40am, 12.30pm, 2.50pm & 5.15pm; $12.50 new-releases cheap tickets Tues $6). The film's highlight is the segment about the "dinosaur trees", a stand of thirty-metre-high Wollemi Pine, previously known only from fossil material over sixty million years old. The trees - miraculously still existing - remain deep within a sheltered rainforest gully in the Wollemi National Park, north of Katoomba, and made headlines when they were first discovered in 1994.

Getting there and around
CityRail trains leave from Central Station to Mount Victoria and follow the highway, stopping at all the major towns en route (frequent departures until about midnight; 2hr; $9.40 one-way to Katoomba, $11.20 return). If you're dependent on public transport, Katoomba makes the best base: facilities and services are concentrated here, and there are buses to local attractions and to other centres: the Katoomba-Woodford Bus Co (tel 4782 4213) and Mountainlink (tel 4782 3333). Buses leave town from Katoomba Street outside the Carrington Hotel.

Glenbrook has the Blue Mountains Information Centre, on the Great Western Highway (daily 9am-5pm; tel 4739 6266; www.bluemts.com.au), the place to pick up a huge amount of information about the area, including the very useful Blue Mountains Wonderland Visitors Guide, which has several detailed maps and the free listings guide This Month in the Blue Mountains. The other official tourist information centre is at Echo Point, near Katoomba; neither office books accommodation but they do issue vacancy listings. The NPWS has ranger stations at Wentworth Falls and Blackheath where you can get comprehensive walking information.

Activities
Canyoning is the big thing in the mountains: Blue Mountains Adventure Company, 84a Main St, Katoomba (tel 4782 1271), offers beginners' canyoning and abseiling trips for $89-99 (full day, including lunch), rock-climbing, mountain-biking and caving. Within the handy outdoor equipment shop, Paddy Pallin, the Australian School of Mountaineering, 166b Katoomba St (tel 4782 2014), is Katoomba's original abseiling outfit, offering abseiling courses (daily; $79 including lunch) plus a programme of canyoning, climbing and bush-survival courses. It also sells all camping gear and a good range of topographic maps and bushwalking guides. Great Australian Walks (tel 9555 7580), offer guided walks in the Jenolan Caves area and along the 42-kilometre-long Six Foot Track from Katoomba to Jenolan Caves. High 'n' Wild Mountain Adventures, 3/5 Katoomba St (tel 4782 6224), has a consistently good reputation for beginners' abseiling courses ($49 including lunch) plus canyoning ($65), rock-climbing ($55) and wilderness walks (from $49).

Eating
  • Arjuna 16 Valley Rd, off the Great Western Highway tel 4782 4662. Excellent, authentic Indian restaurant. A bit out of the way, but positioned for spectacular sunset views, so get there early. BYO; non-smoking. Evenings from 6pm; closed Tues & Wed.
  • Avalon Restaurant First floor, 98 Main St, opposite Katoomba CityRail tel 4782 5532. Dinner daily, plus lunch Thurs, Fri & Sun. Stylish restaurant with the ambience of a quirky café. Moderately priced menu, but big servings and desserts to die for. BYO.
  • Blues Café 57 Katoomba St, Katoomba. Daily 9am-9pm. Bakery and cosy vegetarian café - this place has been going for years and is as popular as ever.
  • Siam Cuisine 172 Katoomba St, Katoomba tel 4782 5671. Tues-Sun 11.30am-2.30pm & 5.30-10pm. Crowded, inexpensive BYO Thai restaurant with $6 lunch specials.
  • Zuppa 36 Katoomba St, Katoomba tel 4782 9247. Daily 8am-5pm and Fri & Sat night to 11pm. Katoomba's trendiest café - amiable staff, Art Deco interior, generous servings. Nothing over $7 during the day; different menu on Fri and Sat night (bookings advised) but never more than $15. Live music Fri night.

Drinking
The best place for a civilized drink is the Carrington Bar on Katoomba Street, which features a piano player on Friday nights and jazz on Saturday; or you could try your luck at The Clarendon's salubrious little bar, mostly reserved for guests, where there are also cabaret acts. On the other side of the railway line, the huge late-opening Gearins Hotel is a hive of activity, with several bars where you can play pool and see bands.

Accommodation
  • The Cecil Guesthouse 108 Katoomba St. Very central choice, but back from the main drag. Has an old-fashioned 1940s atmosphere, with log fires, games room and tennis courts. No en-suite rooms. A hearty breakfast is included.
  • The Clarendon Cnr of Lurline and Waratah streets. Classic 1920s guesthouse with its own cocktail bar and restaurant, and cabaret shows on weekends. The guesthouse rooms are best - avoid the Seventies-style motel rooms. Budget rooms without bathroom are available.
  • Hydro-Majestic Hotel Great Western Highway, opposite Medlow Bath CityRail, 7km west of Katoomba. Luxurious, restored Art Deco hotel with magnificent views of the Megalong Valley, especially from the café balcony. Breakfast included; café (daily until 6pm) and restaurant (nightly). All rooms are en suite with hot drinks and telephone.
  • Katoomba Mountain Lodge Church Lane, off Katoomba St. Central budget accommodation with great views over the town. Four-bed dorms and attractive doubles (sharing bathrooms) with window seats. Breakfast and dinner available.