The Funky Site

Katoomba is the main tourist resort and boasts the Scenic Railway along with panoramic views across the World Heritage listed Jamison valley. The Scenic Railway is the world's steepest railway at an incline of 52 degrees, allowing a 418m descent (178m vertical) to the valley floor in around five minutes. The train was originally used to carry coal back up the cliff, but is now just a tourist attraction. From the lower base you can walk through the rainforest and climb back to the top via either Furber Steps or the Giant Stairway. The best views of Katoomba Falls are from the Furber steps.

The Three Sisters rock formation at Echo point can be seen from almost any vantage point, and their natural majesty is worth seeing. Like Uluru, they change appearance significantly throughout the day, and also like Uluru they feature in the Aboriginal Dream Time stories.

See the tourism websites at www.bluemountainstourism.org.au or www.bluemts.com.au for further information including accomodation, attractions, history etc. For more on the Scenic Railway try http://info.mountains.net.au.

The Jenolan caves are a set of nine show caves carved from the limestone over thousands of years. The first recorded discovery was in 1838, and new caves have continued to be found throughout the years, with the last (the Spider Cave) being unearthed in 1975. A nature reserve surrounds the caves, making for some lovely walks and abundant wildlife. We visited the Temple of Baal, so named for its rock formations similarity to Baal as mentioned in the Bible. They include the Angel's Wing and Baal himself, perched at the top of the cave looking down on you!

For more information look at www.jenolancaves.org.au.