A trip to Sydney is not complete without visiting Blue Mountains.
Blue Mountains is a major national park in New South Wales and is a UNESCO Heritage Area. The region is renowned for its beautiful mountain ranges and majestic scenery.
One can get a package tour or DIY day trip. With Sydney's efficient transportation system and tourist friendly locals, a DIY would be more economical and fun.
My husband and I opted for a DIY. We took the train to Katoomba from Sydney Central station. Fare was about $8 each and travel time was more or less 2 hours.
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| Central Station |
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| sight along the way |
It was very windy and cold when we arrived at Katoomba. We walked to the ticketing office and purchased 2 types of tickets- one for the Explorer Bus and the other for the Scenic World. These 2 tickets cost $78 per person. We hopped on to the waiting Explorer bus. The driver was jolly and greeting the passengers in different languages. He gave commentaries as we passed by areas in Katoomba.
We alighted at the Scenic World stop. The Scenic World ticket entitled us to entrance to the Scenic Railway, Scenic Cableway, Scenic Walkway and Scenic Skyway.
We hopped on the cableway. The Scenic Cableway is an enclosed glass cabin with vantage point for viewing the Three Sisters and Jamison Valley. It slowly descends into the valley and at the end bottom station once can access the Scenic Walkway. It has a pathway 2.5km through the forest.
The walkway is very convenient and safe. There are tall trees on both sides of the walkway. There are rest benches along the route. There is also a portion showing a coal mine entrance.
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| coal mine entrance |
At the end of the walkway is the Scenic Railway. At this point, the railway will ascend.
We went back to the Cableway and went up back to the main area. We queued to the Skyway.
At noon, we bought our lunch at Terrace Cafe located inside the Scenic World reception area. We ordered salmon burritos and pumpkin soup to warm us up. The dining area has glass walls and you can have a glimpse of the beautiful mountains.
After lunch, I tried the Scenic Railway. The Scenic Railway is inclined at 52 degrees making it the steepest railway in the world. The red carriages are custom designed to allow passengers to adjust the seated position up to 20 degrees.
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| select your seat incline |
The railway will descend 310 meters through cliff sided tunnel and will stop at the Jamison Valley floor and exit to the Walkway and to the Cableway.
We left the Scenic World and hopped on the Explorer bus going to Echo Point. Echo Point is the most popular attraction in Katoomba. It is a lookout with amazing views of Mount Solitary and the Three Sisters. The Three Sisters is a three weathered sandstone peaks believed to have been formed thousands of years ago through erosion.
The lookout is crowded with droves of tourists wanting to have a vantage view for picture taking. As the wind continued to blow harder , we left Echo Point and our next stop was the Leuralla toy and train museum.
The museum is a big 2-storey house with a 12 acre garden.
Inside, there are huge collections of iconic toys, literature and model trains by Hornby, Marklin and Bing.
Outside, there are displays of railway tracks and station memorabilia including benches and signs. There are also trees and flowerbeds.
We left the museum past 3pm and hailed the Explorer bus. The driver was kind enough to remind the passengers who want to catch the train back to the city. The train would be stopping in 20 minutes and he drove us to the station and we were able to catch it back to Sydney Central Station.
Our expenses for this DIY is $ 126 per person. I was happy that our DIY was a success.
Tip:
Be early to avoid the crowd
Purchase unlimited ride at Scenic World
DIY to Blue Mountain:
Go to Sydney Central Station and take the train to Katoomba. Fare is $8
From Katoomba station, walk to the Explorer Bus ticketing office; purchase ticket and hop on to the red bus and enjoy.
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