Ka Leasteshi

There are not many major cities around the globe that have a World Heritage listed wilderness practically in their own backyard, but that’s precisely what Sydney, Australia has in the breathtaking Blue Mountains. Among the Blue Mountains and another national parks that adjoin them, you will find over a million hectares of unspoiled wilderness to discover, all within an hour’s commuter train ride of Australia’s largest city. As soon as you travel from Sydney to the Blue Mountains, you feel as is you have been teleported to another world, one where there is no sign of the hustle and bustle of the city you left behind. In its place, you find yourself gazing across an infinite landscape of rising and falling hills covered in blue-green eucalypts. As you step into this beautiful landscape, you peer over sheer rock faces, lookup at spectacular waterfalls and into the eyes of Australia’s exceptional animal life. If you are an outside lover, you will surely fall madly in love with the Blue Mountains. If you like putting on your hiking boots and exploring, you can spend weeks in Katoomba or Leura, two of the main cities, hiking a new trail every day. If the thrill of rock climbing or mountain biking is to your liking, then you’ll be in paradise. Most first time visitors to the Blue Mountains go to the quaint town of Katoomba and come first straight down the main street of town to Echo Point and the Three Sisters Lookout. The three sandstone peaks which are the Three Sisters together comprise one of the most photographed landmarks in Australia, but no photograph can do them and their surroundings justice. Standing against the guardrail and looking down may give even hardened rock climbers vertigo, but that does not stop them from taking the Giant Staircase down the side of the Sisters to the valley below and trying their skills on one of the dozens of established climbing routes scattered for miles deep within the canyons at the foot of the Sisters. Hikers, too, love to take this staircase and “go bush.” If you are looking to get away from it all but only have a day to do it in, when you’ve reached the bottom of the stairs you really have gotten away from it all. Surrounded by nature at its best, from the valley floor the only real signs of civilization you see are the helpful signs that are posted discreetly along Federal Pass, which skirts the edge of the cliffs between Katoomba and nearby Leura. After a day of hiking or climbing, the lazy or the exhausted might take the world’s steepest railway line up to the top of the cliffs and back to civilization. While it is definitely possible to accomplish all of this in a single day and be back in Sydney in time for bed, once you have arrived in the Blue Mountains, you won’t want to leave. Fortunately, finding a comfortable Blue Mountains accommodation is easy. You’ll be able to choose from one of the many inexpensive backpackers hostels in town, a quaint bed and breakfast or even a cliffside motel. Katoomba residents are all outdoor lovers themselves and know how to look after weary hikers and climbers. Wander up Katoomba Street after dark and revel in a hearty and well earned meal at one of many cafes and restaurants that line the streets. You’ve earned it.