Blue Mountains Touring Guide - Blue Mountains, Australia

	Katoomba 110km from Sydney Go Doom Ba, Arcartoomba, Goodomabah or Kedumba. Whichever name you choose to believe was the original, they all mean the same thing.... historic Katoomba. To the Aborigines who passed this way 20,000 years ago, it all meant ‘Shiny falling waters’. and as millions of visitors will testify, the name was well chosen. The Katoomba area abounds in shiny, falling waters with such famous places as Katoomba Falls & Cascades (access from Cliff Drive); and Bonnie Doon Falls at Nellies Glen and Minnie Ha Ha Falls at Yosemite Park at North Katoomba. In 1874, being the site of a stone quarry supplying the railway with ballast, the area was known as ‘The Crushers’. This was changed to Katoomba in 1877. The famous Three Sisters Katoomba’s most famous natural attraction is of course the Three Sisters which sit proudly above the majestic Jamison Valley and opposite the spectacular Mt Solitary. All are seen superbly from Queen Elizabeth Lookout at Echo Point. The Three Sisters - floodlit at night - are recorded on an 1880s map as ‘Tria Saxa Pt’. The town’s most famous man-made attractions are the Scenic Railway and Scenic Skyway. The Scenic Skyway The Scenic Railway is the site of a disused mining operation which closed about 1895. In the late 1920s Katoomba Colliery went into business once more and by 1930 began using their coal skips to give tourists the thrill of their lives with rides down to the valley floor. A network of wonderful bushwalking trails weaves its way along the valley floor from the base of the Scenic Railway - which is the steepest incline railway in the world. Other unforgettable thrills come when you take a leisurely journey along Cliff Drive. The views are simply magical. Please select to see what's close by view accommodation view restaurants & dining view other business	BLUE MOUNTAINS TOURING GUIDE Blue Mountains Grand Circular Drive Click on village names to see full details All material contained in this touring guide is copyright of Jayarnda Pty Ltd and may not be reproduced for any commercial purpose whatsoever without permission. Ph 02 6355 6292 Katoomba is to many, synonymous with the imposing Carrington Hotel. Started in 1880, this was Katoomba’s first tourist hotel, originally named the Western Star; and then the Great Western Hotel. The hotel’s water and electricity supplies became those of the whole town. The towering smoke stack can hardly be missed. The hotel has been totally restored and refurbished and is one of the treasured icons of Australian tourism heritage. A few km west of Katoomba, right beside the highway, stand the sheltered and floodlit remains of the historic ‘Marked Tree’ said to have had initials carved in it by Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth in 1813. The Explorers Marked Tree At the top of famous Pulpit Hill which is immediately behind the Marked Tree, are some 20 heaps of stones, believed to be the graves of convicts who died during maintenance of Coxs Road. Pulpit Hill was named because of religious services held there during the convict era. Opposite Pulpit Hill over the railway line (buried in the bush) is the site of the former police lock-up. Nellies Glen Road, which turns left off the highway by the Marked Tree, leads to the start of the historic ‘Six Foot Track’ from Katoomba to Jenolan Caves. The bridle track plummets down into Nellies Glen and across the floor of the Megalong Valley. The section of highway immediately past the Marked Tree and leading to Medlow Bath is called ‘Whipcord Hill’ with its name coming from the penal colony days.

	Blue Mountains Grand Circular Drive Penrith/Emu Plains to Lapstone ~ Glenbrook to Blaxland ~ Springwood & Valley Heights ~ Faulconbridge Linden to Woodford ~ Hazelbrook/Lawson/Bullaburra ~ Wentworth Falls ~ Leura ~ Katoomba Medlow Bath ~ Blackheath ~ Megalong Valley ~ Mount Victoria ~ Hartley & Hartley Historic Village Hampton to Jenolan Caves ~ Oberon ~ Lithgow ~ Mount Wilson ~ Bells Line of Road The Hawkesbury Richmond/Windsor ~ Bathurst/Mudgee & Beyond The Blue Mountains