Blue Mountains

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The Blue Mountains, located immediately to the west of the sprawling metropolian area that is Sydney, is one of the most accessible areas of (relatively unspoilt) highland natural beauty in New South Wales, Australia. Although not particularly high as a mountain range, the Blue Mountains is nonetheless renowned for its majestic scenery of a unique kind, for its cultural attractions and for its relatively tranquil, alternative mode of life (despite being located so close to Sydney....)

The Blue Mountains region was inscribed as a World Heritage Area by UNESCO in 2000 1 (http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/917).

	blue mountains Travel Guide : 1 Cities 2 Other destinations 3 Understand 3.1 History 3.2 People 4 Get in 4.1 By car 4.2 By train 5 Get around 6 See 7 Do 7.1 Walks 7.2 Drives 8 External Links

Cities

The major towns in the Blue Mountains are:

• Blackheath
• Blaxland
• Echo Point
• Katoomba
• Leura
• Little Hartley
• Megalong Valley
• Mount Victoria
• Oberon
• Wentworth Falls

Other, smaller, towns include:

• Medlow Bath

Other destinations

The Blue Mountains is most famous for its three National Parks other sites of natural beauty:

• Blue Mountains National Park
• Kanangra Boyd National Park
• Wollemi National Park
• Jenolan Caves

Understand

History

Although not especially high, the Blue Mountains were sufficiently rugged to prevent European explorers and settlers from penetrating the inland of New South Wales from Sydney for some time. Although Aborigines were able to negotiate the mountain trails, it took Europeans from 1788 - when Sydney was first settled - until 1813 (25 years) to discover a way over. Even then, it was never by following the valleys, but only by traversing the mountain ridges, that a road over the mountains was made possible.

People

The culture of the Blue Mountains is not as well known. Perhaps this is no accident. "The Mountains" are a major weekend destination for Sydneysiders and yet the Blue Mountains locals resist development - you'll only find two fast food restaurants between Sydney and Lithgow. The people of the Blue Mountains live in "villages", however in the lower Mountains, these are basically suburbs of Sydney. The People of the Blue Mountains include:

• Retirees
• Commuters
• Folks looking for an alternative lifestyle
• Artists (including, in the past, the infamous Norman Lindsay (http://www.hermes.net.au/nlg))
• People who want to get back to nature

If you stay long enough to get to know the place, you'll find an interesting mix of 1860, 1960 and last year.

Get in

You can get to the Blue Mountains by car or take a direct "Inter-Urban" train from Sydney Central.

By car

Take the M4 to Emu Plains, then continue as the road becomes the Great Western Highway. Sydney to Katoomba is 103km and takes about 1:50, if you don't get slowed down by the traffic congestion (which you invariably will).

By train

CityRail 2 (http://www.cityrail.info/) trains run regularly to the Blue Mountains from Sydney Central, Strathfield, Parramatta, or Penrith. Trains run every hour or so as far as Mount Victoria and some proceed to Lithgow. While the train will get you to the mountains, be prepared to walk a fairly long walk to get to some locations. There are a number of locations that you won't be able to reach without a car (unless you plan to walk for 3 days). That said, most of the main towns in the Blue Mountains are linked together by the rail line.

Get around

The best way to get around the mountains is to drive. The Great Western Highway travels the length of the mountains and most places aren't far from it. However you can get to some stunning view points near Katoomba and Leura falls using the cheap and regular bus service. Buses stop right outside the train station.

See

• Govett's Leap (at Blackheath)
• Echo Point and the Three Sisters (at Katoomba)
• Kanagra Walls at Kanangra Boyd National Park
• Watch a movie at The Edge in Katoomba.

Do

• Ride the Oaks Trail on your mountain bike
• Ride on one of the scenic rides into the Jamison Valley from Katoomba.
• To get away from the crowds in "scenic" Katoomba, get a bus (or taxi) to Leura falls, and walk down the steps to the wedding veil falls and along Federal Pass - a fantastic walk, not too hard, and loads of wildlife!
• Jenolan Caves
• Zig Zag Railway. ph 02 6355 2955 or 02 6351 4826 (recorded timetable). fax 02 6355 2954. email zigzag@pnc.com.au. The Zig Zag Railway is a historic railway. It was the main system for descending from the mountains before tunnels were made, and now it is a tourist attraction. You can drive to it from the Bells Line of Road or catch a Cityrail train to Zig Zag station and change. The train journey up and down the mountain takes about 1.5 hours. Trains run at 11am, 1pm and 3pm, steam trains only run on Wednesdays, weekends, public holidays and school holidays. Tickets are $20 adults, $15 students and senioprs, $10 children over 5 and free for children under 5. Family tickets for 2 adults and 3 children or 1 adult and 4 children are $50. http://www.zigzagrailway.com.au/

Walks

• Govett's Leap
• The thousand steps (at Echo Point, down into the valley)
• The thousand steps through the valley to the Scenic Railway
• Six Foot Track (starts at the Great Western Highway and ends at Jenolan, takes at least a day)

Drives

• Bells Line of Road

External Links

• Blue Mountains Tourism (http://www.bluemountainstourism.org.au/)

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