Sydney’s Top Sights - Sydney - page 416

( 4782 2699; www.scenicworld.com.au ; cnr Violet St & Cliff Dr, Katoomba; railway & cableway adult/child/fam-
ily $21/10/52, skyway $16/8/40, combo $28/14/70; 9am-5pm) If you can stomach the megaplex vibe,
ride what's billed as the steepest railway in the world down the 52-degree incline to the
Jamison Valley floor. From here you can wander a 2.5km forest boardwalk or hike the
track to the Ruined Castle OFFLINE MAP rock formation (12km, six hours return), then catch
the Scenic Cableway, an enclosed, wheelchair-accessible cable car, back up the slope.

There's also a cable car called the Scenic Skyway (adult/child $16/8), which floats out
across Katoomba Falls gorge. Its glass floor gives passengers views of the valley canopies
200m below.

BLACKHEATH
OFFLINE MAP
The crowds and commercial frenzy fizzle considerably 10km north of Katoomba in neat,
petite Blackheath. The town measures up in the accommodation, food and scenery stakes,
and it's an excellent base for visiting the Grose and Megalong Valleys.

TOWN

East of town are Evans Lookout OFFLINE MAP (turn off the highway just south of Black-
heath) and Govetts Leap OFFLINE MAP , offering views of the highest falls in the Blue Moun-
tains. To the northeast, via Hat Hill Rd, are Pulpit Rock OFFLINE MAP , Perrys Lookdown
OFFLINE MAP and Anvil Rock OFFLINE MAP . To the west and southwest lie the Kanimbla and
Megalong Valleys, with spectacular views from Hargraves Lookout OFFLINE MAP .

LEURA
OFFLINE MAP
Leura, 3km east of Katoomba, is a gracious, affluent town, fashioned around undulating
streets, unparalleled gardens and sweeping Victorian verandahs. The Mall, the tree-lined
main street, offers rows of country craft stores and cafes for the daily tourist influx.

TOWN

WENTWORTH FALLS
OFFLINE MAP
As you head into the town of Wentworth Falls, you'll get your first real taste of Blue
Mountains' scenery: views to the south open out across the majestic Jamison Valley.
Wentworth Falls, which lend the town its name, launch a plume of droplets over a 300m
drop. Check them out at Falls Reserve OFFLINE MAP . This is also the starting point of a net-
work of walking tracks, which delve into the sublime Valley of the Waters OFFLINE MAP ,
with waterfalls, gorges, woodlands and rainforests.

TOWN, WATERFALL

KATOOMBA
Swirling otherworldly mists, steep streets lined with art deco buildings, astonishing valley
views and a quirky miscellany of restaurants, buskers, artists, galleries, homeless people,

TOWN