Blue Mountains

For more than a hundred years the Blue Mountains have been a favorite holiday resort for the people of Sydney. Some 65km west of the city the mountains rise steeply out of the coastal plain, combining magnificent mountain scenery (steep gorges, waterfalls and rock formations) with high-quality facilities for tourists and holidaymakers.

The 'City of Blue Mountains' comprises more than 20 settlements: best equipped to cater for tourists are Katoomba, Blackheath, Wentworth Falls (Katoomba), Springwood and Glenbrook.

History

The high rock walls of the Blue Mountains were an almost impassable barrier in the early days of the colony, until in 1813 Gregory Blaxland, Henry Lawson and William Charles Wentworth discovered the passage through the mountains and thus opened up the route to the grazing land beyond, of which the settlers were in such urgent need. After 1875 well-to-do citizens of Sydney discovered the charms of the scenery and built holiday homes in the mountains that offered a refuge from the heat of summer on the coast. Once the Blue Mountains - 'blue' because of the intensification of the bluish tones of the solar spectrum by particles of eucalyptus oil suspended in the air - could be reached only by coach or by rail: nowadays they are less than two hours by car from the center of Sydney. Large numbers of visitors come to Katoomba every day on coach tours or by train.

In spite of intensive tourist development along the Great Western Highway only a small part of the Blue Mountains is directly accessible for day trippers. The sheer rock faces of the mountains, which rise up to 1100 m, and the deep wooded gorges close much of the area to all but thoroughly experienced bush walkers and rock climbers. There are climbing schools running courses for beginners or more advanced climbers.