The Blue Mountains National Park is a World Heritage area in the suburbs of Sydney with magnificent views
The Blue Mountains are located 104 kilometers west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is a famous tourist destination in the suburbs of Sydney. There are many eucalyptus trees growing on the mountains, and the gases released by the leaves have long gathered in the mountains to form a layer of blue mist, hence the name Blue Mountains. The Blue Mountains area covers an area of 1.03 million hectares and includes 8 protected areas. The park is full of cliffs, waterfalls, canyons, forests, rivers and lakes, forming a rich and diverse ecological environment that fascinates people. In 2000, the Great Blue Mountains Area was listed as a World Natural Heritage Site by UNESCO.
There are many transportation options to choose from when traveling from Sydney to the Blue Mountains, and the fastest option is the train from Sydney Central Station. It only takes 2 hours for the train to arrive at Katoomba, a historic town near the Blue Mountains, from Sydney. There is a train every 30 minutes during the peak hours from 7 to 9 in the morning, but the price is a bit expensive. If you want to save money, you can avoid this period. In addition, there is a chance to buy round-trip tickets on Sundays, and the price will be even cheaper. However, there are many tourists going to the Blue Mountains on Sundays, and there may be no seats available on the train. After arriving at Katumba Town, just follow the signs and walk for about 25 minutes to Echo Point.
There is an Echo Point Lookout at Echo Point, which is a great place to appreciate the Three Sisters up close. The view is quite wide, so it is recommended to check in and take photos here first. The Three Sisters are the most unique landform in the Blue Mountains. The three huge rocks are 922 meters, 918 meters and 906 meters high respectively. They stand side by side, forming the classic symbol of the Blue Mountains and appearing in major magazines and postcards. Legend has it that the Three Sisters Rock was once three sisters who fell in love with three brothers of a different race and violated the rules of their tribe, which led to a war between the two tribes. At that time, a wizard on the mountain turned the three sisters into stone in order to protect them from the threat of war, thus creating the Three Sisters Rock of today. In addition, there is a visitor center at Echo Point, where you can buy souvenirs and get a lot of sightseeing information such as route maps of several surrounding trails.
Starting from Echo Point, walk about one kilometer along the Prince Henry Cliff Walk, passing several lookouts along the way, and soon you will arrive at the Skyway East Station of Scenic World. From here you can take a sightseeing cable car suspended 270 meters above the canyon. Through the 360-degree floor-to-ceiling glass on the cable car, you can overlook the beautiful scenery of the entire valley and forest from a high altitude. The cable car stops at Scenic World Top Station. From here, visitors can continue to take the Cable Way to the bottom of the valley and the Walkway deep into the rainforest. Along the way, they can see many relics and introductions of ancient mining, including some mining tools, mines, old railways, etc. In addition to Skyway, Cableway and Walkway, Scenic World has another route, which is the world's steepest train Railway, with a slope of 52 degrees, which is well worth experiencing. The four routes of Scenic World, including the sightseeing train/cable car, all offer unlimited rides for one price (AUD49.9) and operate 365 days a year, from 9am to 5pm every day.
In addition to Scenic World and Three Sisters, if you want to explore the Blue Mountains in depth, there are many hiking trails in the park for visitors to choose from, starting from the easiest Prince Rock walking trail mentioned above, which is 1.8 kilometers round trip, overlooking Wentworth Falls, Kings Tableland and Mount Solitary along the way; you can further challenge the 3-kilometer round-trip Glenbrook Gorge Track, or even the 45-kilometer Six Foot Track, which takes three days and ends at another famous attraction in the park, Jenolan Caves. The stalactite caves are one of the most mature and oldest cave systems in the world, with 9 magnificent display caves, underground rivers and amazing spectacular terrain.