Taking Time to Walk & Wonder

Suitably fortified, it was time to visit the Leura Cascades & continue on this section of the Prince Henry Cliff Walk. It’s good to have a map. The Blue Mountains Tourist Newspaper is available in most cafes & tourist information centres. This one has a useful map of the Blue Mountains on p.20-21 & another of Katoomba-Leura that includes walking tracks on  p. 33 here. Best of all is  the Blue Mountains  National Park Walking Track Guide for Katoomba & Leura which can be purchased at the Tourist Information Office at Glenbrook, Katoomba or Blackheath, hopefully for about $6.

From the small Carpark at Leura Cascades there’s the curious concrete shelters & its only 15 mins along the clifftop to either the Cascades or the Bridal Veil Lookout where you get a view of Leura Falls (& 15 mins back from each). When it rains, its fun to come & see the falls, take photos & find out how many other people are just as keen, silly, or crazy.

Heading back the same way, then after turning at the bridge down to Leura Cascades the walk follows the sound of the rushing water as the steps head down to the Cascades & the top of the the Bridal Veil Falls aka Leura Falls. From here the round walk continues past the top of the falls, up the stairs & up many more steps, but the reward is the great views along the cliffs, out to Mt Solitary and back across to the ladder at Bridal Veil Lookout, perched up on the cliff. After the lookout, take the path up to the Round Walk (not the steps down to Fern Bower) which will bring you back, down quite a few steps, to the bridge, and the path to the carpark. You may find a few confused walkers, like I did but its not far and there’s signs, but a map always helps. The round walk is a good workout all on its’ own!

By taking the path & steps down to Fern Bower from the lookout you come to the bottom of the falls.  Just take a thermos, some buttered scones &  the time to enjoy the waterfall as you sit and recover from all the steps. Bliss. ****4 stars. It’s hard work getting back up the steps the way you came but more so if you head to Fern Bower & Solitary Kiosk. There was a landslide in the last couple of years & the track to the bottom of the Falls was closed. There wasn’t any sign about it today and I don’t know if it’s ok or not now, although the usual sign with a warning for experienced walkers only was still there. Better to check with national parks or the tourist info at Echo Pt.

It’s a lovely area & great exercise but there’s still the Giant Stairway at Echo point, the Scenic Railway & the Furber steps to come. Right now I’m off to Mt Victoria & the Mt Tomah Botanical Gardens.