Monday 13/10/2025 Katoomba Falls Tourist Park – Prince Henry Cliff Walk – Scenic World – Kedumba River – Katoomba Cascades
Tuesday 14/10/2025 Katoomba Falls Tourist Park – Katoomba Falls – Kedumba River – Prince Henry Cliff Track – Allambie Lookout – Lady Darley’s Lookout – Kedumba View – Echo Point Lookout – Spooners Lookout – Lady Carrington Lookout – Tallawalla Lookout – Honeymoon Lookout – Kiah lookout – Bridal Veil lookout – Leura Cascades Fern Bower Circuit – Leura Cascades Picnic Area – Tarpeian Rock – Olympian Rock – Elysian Rock Lookout – Gordon Falls Reserve – Pool of Siloam – Pool of Siloam Track – Golg Links Lookout – Grand Clifftop Walk – Willoughby Road – Sublime Point Road – Fairmont Resort Blue Mountains – Lillians Bridge Track – Valley of the Waters Track – Empress Falls – Conservation Hut – Shortcut Track – Overcliff Walk – Undercliff Track – Princes Rock Lookout – Wentworth Falls – Fletchers Lookout – Jamieson Creek – Darwins Walk – Wilson Park – Great Western Highway – Station Street – Wentworth Falls Train Station
Blue Mountains National Park, NSW
Gundungurra Country (Gundungurra people)
Participants: Stephen Davies (Photos), Sue Davies (Report)
I’ve wanted to complete this walk for a while. It opened in March 2024 and is recommended as a two-day walk. With a total distance of 19km, we decided to try it as a day walk. Just to wet our appetite, we wandered down from camp and had a look around the Scenic World section on the Monday evening.
Monday Evening
Max elevation: 960 m
Total climbing: 51 m
Total descent: -54 m
Average speed: 3.72 km/h
Total time: 01:07:24
Tuesday – Grand Clifftop Walk
Max elevation: 961 m
Total climbing: 783 m
Total descent: -848 m
Average speed: 3.56 km/h
Total time: 08:53:08
We aimed to get an early start and just happened to find a camping spot at the Katoomba Falls Tourist Park, which is conveniently situated across the road from the start of the walk near Scenic World.
At 8:00am in the morning we had lunch packed and we were ready to go. It was great not to have to pack up, and our home on wheels was ready when we returned at the end of the day.
It was a clear, cool morning as we headed off to walk on the lands of the Gundungurra and Dharug peoples. We have walked sections of this track before, as recently as a few months ago, but we have not completed the entire 20km walk.
There are multiple lookouts and side tracks along the way, too many to complete if we wanted to get to Wentworth Falls before nightfall. However, we did go to most lookouts to enjoy the clear expansive views of this incredible country. There were not too many people on the trail early in the morning, just a few keen trail runners. We were lucky to spot a Lyrebird scratching around, which wasn’t too bothered by our presence.
We were bemused by a stationary cable car from which it looked like people were about to bungee jump from but we didn’t see any action even though there were people standing on the outside of the cabin. Before we knew it, we were at Echo Point and the Three Sisters, where it was lovely to enjoy the views without the crowds. We used the facilities and refilled our water bottles.
The Spring flowers were lovely to see, we even spotted some tiny orchids and a few remaining Waratahs with their large, spectacular red flowers. The yellow-tailed white Cockatoos were out in force, particularly in the morning, and a huge group of them were flying around a waterfall cascading over the sandstone cliffs.
It appears that much time and effort has gone into constructing this track with so many lookouts, impressive sandstone steps, reinforced steel lookouts and trail construction to make the walk easier.
At the moment, there were some track closures, and we did make an unwanted detour near Leura Cascades as the signage was not very clear.
Sue near Leura Cascades
As were approached Leura, the track leaves the cliffline and follows through the residential area for a few kilometres. This is the least appealing part of the trail. It then skirts around the Fairmont Resort before re-entering the National Park.
We stopped for lunch on a wooden step, feeling the need to refuel. Seeing a sign that it was now only 2km to Conservation Hut and refreshments there would keep us going after lunch. It did seem like a long 2km as our legs were starting to get weary from the distance walked and the multiple stairs climbed during the day.
Jamison Creek along Weeping Rock Walking Track
Refreshed (somewhat), we continued on for the last few kilometres of the day. We were thankful for track improvements near Wentworth Falls station, which made walking over boardwalks quite fast as we were aiming to catch the 5:00pm train back to Katoomba. We arrived at the station with 10 minutes to spare. There was a taxi waiting as we left the train, which saved us an extra few kilometres walk through the streets of Katoomba.
We were back at our campsite by 5:20pm satisfied after a picturesque day walk and having completed one of the NSW Great Walks.
Amongst other photographically recorded observations during this walk, we were able to confirm sightings of each of the following species: Superb Lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae), Pied Currawong (Strepera graculina), Leafy Purple Flag (Patersonia glabrata), Dusky Fingers (Caladenia fuscata), Waratah (Telopea speciosissima)
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Information on Parks signage along the way
Grand Cliff Top Walk
Become immersed in the majestic beauty of the iconic Blue Mountains
This scenic two-day walk showcases some of Australia’s most breathtaking World Heritage views and landscapes, linking Wentworth Falls to Katoomba via bushland tracks. High above the Jamison Valley this 19-kilometre walking experience connects historic tracks and spectacular lookouts; revealing waterfalls, rainforest, protected native plants and unique wildlife.
The Grand Cliff Top Walk is accessible from different locations, allowing you to tailor the length of your walk. For those completing the full route, an overnight stay in one of the mountains villages provides an opportunity to rest and recharge before continuing your adventure.
World Heritage
World Heritage status is the highest level of recognition for the planet’s most exceptional natural and cultural places. It highlights the Blue Mountains environmental importance to Australia and the world and recognises the need to protect and preserve the area for future generations.
The Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area covers over a million hectares. The area is listed for its outstanding biodiversity values, with unique ecosystems teeming with rare plants and animals occurring in an extraordinarily diverse landscape of rugged plateaux, sheer cliffs, and deep gorges rich in natural and cultural values.
These World Heritage biodiversity values are complemented by numerous other key values, including indigenous cultural heritage and historic heritage, geodiversity, water systems, wilderness, recreation, and natural beauty.
To Katoomba Falls
Grade: Medium Kedumba
View to Katoomba Falls
Wheelchair access to
Kedumba View Lookout
Time: about 1 hour (one way)
Follow the sealed pathway to Kedumba View Lookout. Continue along the track past Wollumái Lookout to Cliff View Lookout.
From Cliff View Lookout the track is again sealed for
wheelchair access from Katoomba Park near Katoomba Cascades. Cross Katoomba Cascades to reach the Watchtower and Duke and Duchess of York Lookouts above Katoomba Falls. The best views of the falls are from Reids Plateau, a further 200m past the Watchtower.
To Scenic World
Grade: Medium
Time: about 1 hour (one way)
Follow Prince Henry Cliff Walk as above, to Katoomba Falls. Go past Reids Plateau, up the steps and continue on Prince Henry Cliff Walk to reach Scenicworld. Buses are available at Scenicworld to return to Echo Point or Katoomba. Phone 1800 801577 for bus timetable information.
Prince Henry Cliff Walk
Prince Henry Cliff Walk is named for Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, and was opened with that name in 1934. Construction of the track linked other shorter tracks; some constructed since the 1880s, and gave access to around 20 other tracks and numerous lookouts. The track follows the cliff top from Scenicworld to Leura Cascades, then on to Gordon Falls.
Federal Pass
Federal Pass was constructed in 1900 and paid for by public subscription. It was opened on the 3rd November 1900, by NSW Premier Lyne, and there were 17 Members of Parliament present. The following year Federation of the States of Australia occurred.
Federal Pass connects Leura Forest with the bottom of the Giant Stairway, Katoomba Falls, Scénic Railway and the bottom of The Landslide. In 1936 Federal Pass was extended to include the old horse tramway that once operated to the oil shale mine at Ruined Castle.
Caring for Country
The traditional custodians of this area are the Gundungurra people who believe caring for Country (Ngurra) is a way of life based on Aboriginal lore and customs that have been inherited from their ancestors.
For Gundungurra people, Country (Ngurra) takes in everything within the physical, cultural and spiritual landscape. It is the landforms, water, air, trees, rocks, plants, animals, foods, medicines, minerals, stories and special places. It includes cultural practice, language, kinship, knowledge, songs, stories and art, as well as ancestral beings and Aboriginal people past, present and future.
For Gundungurra people, caring for Country (Ngurra) is essential to practising their culture today. Stone tools, rock engravings and drawings have remained untouched, sustaining cultural and spiritual traditions for thousands of years, enabling it to be a living culture.
Darwins Walk
This walk follows the length of Jamison Creek, flowing over Wentworth Falls into the Jamison Valley, and eventually making its way to Lake Burragorang – Sydney’s drinking water supply.
This historic walk is named after the famous naturalist, Charles Darwin, who walked the creek corridor in 1836. The valley above the waterfall was known as Jamison Valley until about 1834. It was named by Governor Macquarie in May 1815 after Sir John Jamison, who was a friend of Macquarie and a pioneering pastoralist.
Take your time meandering along the creekline.
Darwins Walk leads to the Blue Mountains National Park. Information on walks in the National Park are available at Wentworth Falls Picnic Area.
The local landscape features, geology, scenic highlights, flora, fauna, Indigenous history, white history and other nearby walks in the area (Perplexity AI Model)
Landscape Features and Geology
The landscape surrounding Katoomba Falls Tourist Park, Scenic World, and the Prince Henry Cliff Walk is defined by rugged sandstone escarpments rising to around 1,000 metres above sea level. The dissected plateau is carved by the Kedumba River and its tributaries, forming steep-sided gullies, waterfalls such as Katoomba Falls, Wentworth Falls, Empress Falls, and cascades like Leura Cascades. Notable cliff formations can be observed from lookouts including Allambie, Lady Darley’s, Echo Point, Sublime Point, and Olympian Rock. The geology is dominated by Triassic Narrabeen Group sandstones overlaying older shale bands, with weathering and periodic tectonic movement creating dramatic erosional features such as the Three Sisters, Tarpeian Rock, and Pool of Siloam. The combination of vertical cliffs and hanging swamps supports a diversity of landforms, including rocky outcrops, moist valleys, fern gullies, and upland heath.
Scenic Highlights
Key scenic highlights include panoramic views from the Prince Henry Cliff Walk, Spooners Lookout, and Gordon Falls Reserve, each offering expansive vistas over the Jamison Valley, Mount Solitary, and the distant escarpments. Waterfalls and cascades, particularly at Katoomba Cascades, Empress Falls, and Pool of Siloam, display significant seasonal variation in flow, sometimes shrouded in mist and framed by lush vegetation. Aesthetic experiences are enhanced at sunset, when sandstone cliffs and rock features like Elysian Rock and Olympian Rock take on rich orange and purple hues.
Local Flora
Vegetation is dominated by dry and wet sclerophyll forest, featuring species such as mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans), blue gum (Eucalyptus deanei), and narrow-leaf peppermint (Eucalyptus radiata), with pockets of temperate rainforest in sheltered valleys. The Leura Cascades Fern Bower Circuit showcases dense growths of tree ferns (Dicksonia antarctica, Cyathea australis), king fern (Todea barbara), and moss-laden gullies. Upland heath and hanging swamps provide habitat for bottlebrush (Callistemon spp.), banksia (Banksia serrata), and waratah (Telopea speciosissima). Orchid species and carnivorous pitcher plants (Cephalotus follicularis) are found in damp, shaded gullies.
Local Fauna
Birdlife is prolific and includes the superb lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae), satin bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus), eastern spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris), and yellow-tailed black cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus funereus). Common mammals include swamp wallaby (Wallabia bicolor), eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus), and several species of possum and glider. The area’s streams and waterfalls harbour eastern water dragon (Intellagama lesueurii) and native fish such as Australian smelt (Retropinna semoni). Invertebrate diversity is high, especially in shaded gullies.
Indigenous History
The region is situated on the land traditionally owned by the Gundungurra and Darug peoples. The Gundungurra call the escarpment and valleys around the Jamison and Kedumba areas their country, referring to significant places by names such as Kedumba and Gulu-mada. Traditional stories recount travels and Dreaming narratives associated with landmarks like the Three Sisters, streams, and waterfalls. Archaeological evidence near Katoomba Falls and along Kedumba River confirms longstanding use of rock shelters, water sources, and vantage points for ceremonial and daily purposes. Neighbouring areas of Lapstone and Blackheath also contain important sites for these First Nations, and cooperative management arrangements now exist between National Parks and the Gundungurra people.
White History
European settlement began in the mid-nineteenth century with the development of the Western railway and the construction of scenic resorts, guest houses, and tracks along the escarpment. The Prince Henry Cliff Walk was established in the 1920s as a major tourism route, with lookouts such as Lady Carrington and Spooners constructed to highlight views over Jamison Valley. Gold prospecting and coal mining occurred around Katoomba and Wentworth Falls in the late nineteenth century, leaving remains visible at sites such as Pool of Siloam and along several walking tracks. Local conservation efforts emerged in the early 1900s as awareness grew of the need to protect endemic flora and unique geological features. Today, the Grand Clifftop Walk, Conservation Hut, and Fairmont Resort showcase the transformation of the district from resource extraction and holidaymaking to environmental conservation and heritage tourism.
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