BLUE MOUNTAINS WALK - Leura to Katoomba waterfalls - moderate 8km & 10km options

Join us to experience the most spectacular parts of the Jamison Valley escarpment, walking 8 - 10km from Leura to Katoomba, and completing half of the iconic Blue Mountains Grand Cliff Walk with endless jaw-dropping scenery:

• the idyllic Pool of Siloam waterfall hidden in a stunning rainforest,
• follow the cliff path to craggy lookouts with incredible valley views,
• wind our way into a dark forested gorge to magical Leura Falls,
• pass right over the famous Three Sisters rock pinnacles, and
• wind through the impressive Katoomba Falls.

On monday you'll be boasting shamelessly to your workmates about what an amazing weekend you had in the mountains with so much scenery, great conversation and laughs with lovely people, peace and relaxation, heaps of crisp fresh air, and great food.

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THE PLAN

If you arrive early: We'll be grabbing coffees at Sparrows Leura cafe from about 9.30am (right across the street from Leura station, they make really excellent coffee, cooked breakfasts, and their luxurious toasted sandwiches make for fantastic takeaway lunches).

Official start: Let's gather at 10.30am at Leura station (at the bus stop directly outside the station, on the corner of Railway Parade and Leura Mall).

We'll make a toilet stop at the end of Leura shops, and then we are heading down through the residential streets full of quaint cottages and elegant winter gardens, and in a couple of blocks we are in the bush.

Very soon the trail takes us down a long stairway to the Pool of Siloam - one of the most beautiful waterfalls and forest pools that you have ever seen - a very Instagramable moment for sure. We'll pause here to appreciate the peace and music of the flowing falls, the golden sandy, the deep green shades of the luxuriant rainforest, the dramatic moss-covered rock walls above us, and the sweet calls of rainforest birds. A steep but very short climb up another stairway brings us out of the dark gully.

From here we follow the line of the cliffs for about 1km, with a series of rocky lookouts with sweeping views over the immense Jamison Valley, full of dramatic sandstone promontories, plunging depths and endless forested wilderness rolling out to the distant Southern Highlands.

Now we arrive at the Leura cascades and take the winding dirt track and built stairways down to the falls and dark forest hidden deep in a tight gully with rock walls curling in around us - they call it the amphitheatre for good reason. You'll feel a million miles from civilisation. (If you don't want to do the stairs down and up again, you can peel off just before this bit to walk on the flat path of the Cliff Walk around the top of the cascades and meet the group on the other side of the gully - easy and no stress).

After Leura Falls we emerge onto the Cliff Walk and follow this flat path for 2km through beautiful forest, leading us right to the edge of the Three Sisters rock formation and soon after that to the busy touristy lookout at Echo Point (with a toilet stop) for 8km walked in total so far. If you have had enough at this point, you can jump on the frequent buses for the quick trip up to Katoomba station.

The Cliff Walk continues around the top of Katoomba Falls with views at multiple angles of the gushing water dropping a huge way below the cliffs. And finally the trail winds around with a last gradual ascent out of the forest to the Scenic World tourist facility, where there are toilets and a shop with refreshments.

That's it people - we're done for the day. We'll aim to finish at about 4pm.

And here's the great bit at the end: the organiser will have a car parked at Scenic World to drive everyone for the 2.5km back up the hill to Katoomba station - no more walking, and no waiting for crowded tourist buses - eeeasy, fast, luxurious!

At Katoomba station you can catch the train one stop back to Leura station if you left your car there in the morning, or head directly home to Sydney.

After-party: If there is interest, we'll go for a relaxed drink at Katoomba and maybe also stay for dinner at the fab pizzeria or thai place right next to the station.

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IS THIS ACTIVITY OK FOR ME?

Given the distance of 10km total for the day, a few ascents and descents, and that some of the route is on extended series of carved stone steps or metal stairways, we are grading this walk as moderate difficulty. It is not a good walk for absolute beginners or for people with bad knees, but if you have done at least a couple of walks of 6 - 9km length with some moderate ups and downs, you will handle this one just fine and really enjoy this very beautiful place.

Don't be put off by the undulating terrain - most are just long gradual ascents on smooth well-built trails, not difficult rocky stuff. Three of the ascents are steep but only short, and if you want to avoid hard work altogether there are dead flat short cuts that you can take to skip entirely around ALL of these significant ascents (i.e. Pool of Siloam, Leura Falls, and Katoomba Falls).

The pace throughout the day will be relaxed, you can take as many pauses as you need to catch your breath (especially on the short steep ascents), and nobody gets left behind. There will be a brief morning break on the trail, a substantial lunch stop at a great scenic spot, and also afternoon break if needed.

If you need them, there are also convenient exit points at

• the 3.5km mark before and after Leura Falls, with bus connections for the short trip to either Katoomba station or Leura station; and
• the 8km mark at Echo Point/Three Sisters in Katoomba, with buses every every 10 minutes for the short trip to Katoomba station.

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TRANSPORT

By train:

• Take the Blue Mountains (Lithgow) service departing from Central Station platform 6 at 8.24am, then passing Strathfield at 8.37am, Parramatta at 8.49am, Blacktown at 8.58am, Penrith at 9.14am, and arriving at Leura station at 10.21am.
• See the trip planner at www.transportnsw.info for all connections and times.

By car:

• Leura is about a 1.5 hour (100km) drive from central Sydney via the M4 Motorway to Emu Plains, and then the Great Western Highway. Allow some extra time for saturday morning traffic.
• At Leura, take the offramp from the Great Western Highway to the left , and then turn left into Leura Mall.
• Parking in the Leura Mall roadway is busy and time-limited, so you will need to park a block or more away from the station. Allow extra time to find a space and to walk back to the meeting point at the station.
• If you wish, another option is that you drive straight to Katoomba earlier in the morning and park in the multi-storey car park at our end point at Scenic World located HERE, and catch the bus from Scenic World to Katoomba station, and then train to Leura to meet the group at 10.30am. This means that at the end of the day you will have your car conveniently located to head directly home instead of back to Leura.

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GRATUITY
Please contribute $10 to help offset the group's operating costs.
You can

• make a PayID bank transfer to the organiser's phone number 0411 600 717 in the 24 hours before you arrive to the event, or
• bring cash on the day.

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BRING

• Opal card for public transport
• Your lunch and snacks for the day on the trail (there is a supermarket in the main street just 100 metres from Leura station - once we leave the Leura shopping area there are NO shops until we reach Scenic World in Katoomba)
• Drink bottle (at least 2 litres, there are not many water sources to refill from once we leave the Leura Mall shopping area)
• Warm jacket, pants, hat (winter days in the mountains tend to be sunny, but the air temperature can be quite low so make sure you dress in layers to add or strip off as needed, and carry a good warm outer jacket and long pants for the end of the day)
• Sturdy walking shoes
• Walking pole (definitely not mandatory, but helps to cushion your knees when traversing the ascents and descents)
• Towel or foam pad to sit on at lunch time
• Insect repellent is highly recommended (the water-based Off or Aeroguard sprays from the supermarket work very well)

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LIABILITY DISCLAIMER
By your RSVP to this event you agree to the conditions of membership and participation which you can read in the "WHAT WE'RE ABOUT" section HERE.