The Picturesque Blue Mountains in New South Wales Australia
About 2 hrs West of Sydney in New South Wales are the majestic Blue Mountains of Australia. True to its name when I first laid eyes on the blue mountains I noticed how truly blue they actually are offering dramatic sceneries and picturesque views to soak in from steep cliffs and various tracks and look-out points.
So the common question that comes up is – Why are the Blue Mountains blue? The entire region in and around these ranges are densely populated with eucalyptus trees which disperses droplets of oil into the atmosphere. This combined with the dust particles and water vapour already present in the atmosphere scatters out shorter wave length rays of light which on the spectrum are predominantly blue.
The weather is good all the year round in the mountains and you get to experience different views in all four seasons. Autumn 🍁 (March – May) is the best time for walking and hiking though.
Getting there:
- Driving is the most flexible way to cover things you would like to see at your own pace
- You could also take the train from Sydney which takes about 2 hrs to get to the top
- Book a day tour
Ideally if you want to explore all of what the blue mountains has to offer you will need a couple of days to do so. You could look at staying in one of the little villages for the night. When I visited in 2016 I covered the Blue mountains as a day trip and made some amazing memories at Scenic World in the Blue mountains and at the legendary Three sisters look out.
I grew up with stories and fables; tales of people in far away lands; living in enchanting and mysterious places; leaving behind captivating stories for us to discover. This left me with a curious urge to look for a story everywhere I went and on this trip I found a captivating legend hidden deep in the blueness of the mysterious Blue Mountains.
The Three Sisters: This is the most popular attraction in the Blue Mountains. If you are wondering who or what the three sisters are – they are a group of beautifully shaped sandstone rocks seen at Echo point with some fabulous stories on its history. My absolute favourite is the legend of the three beautiful sisters – ‘Meehni’, ‘Wimlah’ and ‘Gunnedoo’ who fell in love with three brothers where the tribal law forbade them to marry. The brothers wanted to capture the sisters causing a major tribal battle. To protect the sisters a witch-doctor turns them into stone with the intention on lifting the spell after the battle was over. However the witch-doctor was killed in the battle and these beautiful sisters remained in these magnificent rock formations waiting to be turned back to their original form. In an alternative legend the father of the three girls is a witch-doctor himself and turns the girls into stone using his magic bone to protect them from the Bunyip (a large mythical creature in Australian Aboriginal mythology). To escape from the Bunyip the father turned himself into a Lyre Bird but while doing so dropped his magic bone. He’s spent all these generations till date looking for the bone while the sisters stand magnificently and patiently waiting to return back to their original form. There are multiple areas within the National Park where the Three sisters are visible from however the best view is from the Echo point look out.
Scenic World: Another wonderful attraction where you can spend an entire day is the Scenic world. A ticket costs you 35$ for an adult and 18$ for a child. This entitles you to unlimited access to the park and unique ways to experience the unique sceneries at the Blue Mountains.
Scenic Cableway: This is the steepest cable car in the Southern Hemisphere. It offers amazing views passing closer to the sandstone cliffs. You can access the scenic walkway as soon as you disembark the cableway
Scenic Walkway: Explore the rich natural heritage of the blue mountains through the boardwalks of the scenic walkway. An additional bonus of doing this in April/May is the privilege to view the various artistic exhibits both local and international displayed along the boardwalk.
Scenic Railway: Enjoy the spectacular ride on the steepest passenger railway in the world. The vibrant red train has seats that can be adjusted according to your convenience to begin this incredible journey. Must do when you visit scenic world
Scenic Skyway: Gliding between cliff tops suspended about 270m above deep ravines and lush rainforests this scenic skyway offers spectacular views of the Jamison Valley. This was Australias first cable car and the largest in the Southern Hemisphere.
Plan your visit to scenic world so that you have about 4-5 hours to explore all it has to offer. You will be amazed at the sceneries on the ground via the boardwalks and speechless with the aerial views from the cableway and skyways. A must do is also having a thrilling ride on the steepest railway in the world while soaking in the views. This truly was a day to remember; a little gem of a memory from all of my travel adventures and definitely recommended to anyone who finds themselves in New South Wales.
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