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Travel Highlights: Blue Mountains Edition
Written by Rebecca Wellwood
If you ask us, Karu Distillery’s newly-opened tasting room “House of Spirits” is a must-see attraction set on the eastern edge of the Blue Mountains National Park – while you plan your trip, here are some other suggestions to make it unforgettable from start to finish!
The awe-inspiring, million-hectare world heritage-listed Blue Mountains is located 90 minutes west of Sydney. With eucalypts rolling over the landscape into the famous hazy blue horizon – an illusion born of oils misting from eucalyptus leaves – there is something for everyone. From adrenaline-seeking abseilers in Katoomba, all the way to those at a slower pace who want the simple pleasure of appreciating the vastness of the staggering canyons, sandstone cliffs, and dramatic gorges.
If a digital detox is what you’re after, the Blue Mountains is your perfect antidote from the bustle and hectic comings and goings of city life. Make a day trip out of it or stay a night or two. Soak up the crisp mountain air and centre yourself amongst art and culture from ancient Aboriginal sites to modern street art from one of many charming, historic mountain towns such as Katoomba or Leura.
Your visit wouldn’t be complete without seeing the best-known attraction, the Three Sisters (near Katoomba). The sandstone formations rise nearly a kilometre above Jamison Valley. Our suggestion for the best viewing point is at Echo Point, which forks into several tracks to hike and bushwalk. Scenic World is another experience unique to the region where you can ride a suspended cableway over the staggering rainforest mountains and valleys. If you’ve worked up an appetite after all that, how does a ten-minute drive to lunch at the iconic Hydro Majestic Hotel sound overlooking the escarpment into the valley? For anyone not towing a caravan who has some spare time, take a guided cave tour inside Australia’s biggest and most magnificent limestone caves, the Jenolan Caves – also the oldest in the world.
Your only worry will be when you’ll have another free day, or long weekend, to re-immerse your roots back into New South Wales’ finest.
