Not all the tour guides will tell you about it. Nor is it often found on international tour maps. But like many of the charming places beyond the beaten path, the Blue Mountains are sure to charm you with their untamed adventurous spirit. A short 100 kms west of Sydney, it is close enough for a quick day trip, or a leisurely overnight visit.

The Blue Mountains are actually sandstone plateaus that reach up to 1190 metres above sea level. You can expect pleasant temperatures throughout the year, although in the summer months the temperatures may reach the lower thirties. The plateaus are fringed by rugged eroded gorges reaching up to a depth of 760 metres, and providing dozens of ledges for the adventurous rock-climber. Part of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Site, the Blue Mountains is an extraordinary natural reservoir of flora.

For a long time, the difficult terrain of Blue Mountains prevented access to the valleys beyond it. Explorers would follow rivers which would lead them to spectacular and dangerous waterfalls, ending in a ledge or cliff. Early in the 19th century, three determined explorers charted a new path along the ridges and cliffs to cross what was considered impossible. Later, the Blue Mountains were to provide numerous ridges, cliffs, edges, rock faces, and gorges for the mountaineers and rock-climbers as well as the many abseilers who flock to the area.
There are many attractions in and around the Blue Mountains. The Blue Mountains National Park is 250,000 hectares of natural wonderland, which unlike many other parks, invites people with full accessibility. You can view the Park by car through the M4 Freeway, which will be a one and a half hour trip from Sydney, or you can take the trains leaving hourly from Sydney Central Station. Day touring services are also available, which is a good idea for those who don't want to explore all by themselves. A guided tour will ensure you see all the significant points and you will receive a useful commentary as well. Catering arrangements are also made by the tour companies, saving one planning headache. The English Gardens and villages along the route are enchanting escapes into a pastoral world.

There are many small and spirited towns near and within Blue Mountains – in fact 26 of them in all – and Katoomba (aboriginal for 'shiny, tumbling water'), situated in the heart of the mountains is the most frequented starting point for your journey. There is the famous Giant Stairway that runs down a cliff through a two and half hour walk through the Jamison Valley, into the Scenic Railway.

Along the way you meet the most celebrated feature of the Blue Mountains, the Three Sisters, a sandstone rock face with three crests formed due to differential erosion. Tribal legend has it that three women in love were turned to stone by a witch doctor, who then died, leaving the women in unrequited stony eternal silence.

At the bottom you can ride the Katoomba Scenic Railway, a privately-owned tourist service with a cable-driven railway system that claims to be the steepest rail-route in the world, going to the maxima of an incredible 52˚! Similarly, the Scenic Skyway and the Scenic Flyway are two celebrated cable cars traversing different arms of the Jamison Valley, with the latter claiming to be the steepest in Australia.

The Jenolan Caves are a series of marvelous caves made of limestone with wonderful display of stalactites and stalagmites, situated 45 km (70 km by road) south west of Katoomba township. The Zig Zag railway is a heritage railway around the famous Lithgow Zig Zag, designed in such a way to traverse abrupt ascents.

The Blue Mountains, named so because of the blue haze caused by the volatile fumes released by the surrounding eucalypts, is full of adventure for everyone. Here you can do bushwalking, horse riding, abseiling, visit day spas, ride the railways and cables, see the Edge Cinema or the gardens, and enjoy the various rock formations and caves. You'll find wonderful food and wine, and shopping opportunities to satiate your local interest. Or, if you feel like writing a novel, you might find your muse within the inspiring scenes around you. Fact is, the Blue Mountains are likely to find a way to charm your heart.

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