Sydney Trip - Blue Mountain

Australia - The Blue Mountain

Date: 2007-06-04

The Blue Mountains is a mountainous region in New South Wales, Australia. It borders on Sydney's metropolitan area, its foothills starting approximately 50 km west of the state capital. The area begins on the  west side of the Nepean River and extends westward as far as Coxs River. Geologically, it is situated in the central parts of the Sydney Basin. 

Consisting mainly of a sandstone plateau, the area is dissected by gorges up to 760 metres deep. The highest point of the range is Mount Werong at 1,215 metres above sea level. A large part of the Blue Mountains is incorporated into the Greater Blue Mountains Area World Heritage Site, consisting of seven national park areas and a conservation reserve.

Blue Mountain is one of UNESCO heritage sites. To get there is pretty easy. Just buy a one day tour ticket from any CityRail station. Just checkout the schedule to arrange your trip. Take train from Sydney Central Station to Katoomba station. Change the ticket at the office that is near the train station for sightseeing bus. The sightseeing bus will stop at 28 points for sightseeing. The schedule is on the print out. The first important stop is Scenic World, this is a more commercial site you can to down to the valley by using their equipment - suspend cable car or gondola. The most important stop is Echo Point. You can see the grand view of Blue Mountain region. We did walk to Leura town and looked around. There is a train station and we get on the train to Sydney Central station. Leura station is one stop before Katoomba. The distance between Blue Mountain and Sydney train station is about 2 hours of train ride. Do not let tour company in Sydney to fool you, you can get to Blue Mountain without any effort and you have saved a lot. 

For self visiting:
Purchase Blue Mountain One day tour train pass at Central Station. Take train to the Katoomba station(it is on the guide), then take Sightseeing bus to the scenic area. Sightseeing bus is included in the ticket. Walk to see the park at your own pace. Finally, get on the train back to Sydney at Leura station. You need one day so get on the first train if you can, leave when it is getting dark.