Experience The Vast Wonderland Around Katoomba Right On Sydney's Doorstep

If you're feeling trapped in the city and need an escape, this is easily accomplished. All you have to do is hop on a train in Sydney and before you know it, you'll be in Katoomba, the gateway to the fabulous Blue Mountains National Park. Sydney locals know Katoomba well and when the heat and smog of the city get to them, Katoomba is the place they go, if only for a day.

Katoomba is about a kilometer (2500 ft) above sea level, so you will immediately notice a refreshing crispness in the air the second you debark from the train. You won't need to hassle with further transportation into town because it is only a couple of easy minutes walk away. A short, leg-stretching stroll from the quaint old fashioned train station will take you to a sidewalk cafe where you can enjoy a wholesome meal before you set out on your journey of discovery.

You can walk to Echo Point from the town center, but you may want to save your energy and take a bus or a taxi. When you get there, you will meet the photogenic Three Sisters face-to-face. No matter how many photographs you have seen of these beautiful sisters, it will feel like you've really seen them for the first time. If you dare, now take a peek over the edge of the cliff face to the valley floor some 550 ft (over 150 meters) below.

For over a hundred and seventy years, the Blue Mountains around Katoomba have been the most renowned bushwalking (hiking) area in Australia. Thanks to the Giant Staircase, it is now a lot easier to get to the bottom of the cliffs than it used to be. Once there, you will be on the Federal Pass walking track. As popular as this trail is, it always feels like you are in pristine wilderness when you're on it. On one side of you are endless miles of nearly impenetrable wilderness. On the other side of you are sheer cliff faces. You know that up there at the top of the cliffs, thousands of tourists are milling about, but it is so quiet, you feel like you are all alone. Once you are at the base of the cliffs, you are back in nature.

If a walk or hike on a well-maintained and sign posted trail isn't enough adventure for you, then go back up to the Katoomba city center and call into one of the many shops that specialize in outdoor activities. You can arrange for a rock climbing lesson or a day of abseiling on the cliff sides. If you want to know what life is like deep inside a Blue Mountains canyon, you can take part in a canyoning expedition. In a nutshell: if you want adventure, Katoomba can deliver.

Do yourself a favor and stay in a Katoomba accommodation instead of returning straight to the city. Although you've had a full day, you have not yet even begun to explore all the sights in the Blue Mountains. You haven't visited the lovely nearby towns of Blackheath and Mount Victoria, for instance and you haven't yet experienced the Scenic Railway. By the time you hop on the train and return to Sydney, you'll be amazed that such a vast wonderland could exist right at Sydney's doorstep.