Grand Cliff Top Walk showcases the best of the Blue Mountains
24 March 2024: A new multi-day walk along the escarpment from Wentworth Falls to Katoomba has opened in the Blue Mountains, on Gundungurra Country: the Grand Cliff Top Walk.
The 19km, 2-day walk, delivered by NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) in partnership with Blue Mountains City Council, takes in some of the most striking mountain scenery in Australia and lets walkers spend real time in the World Heritage-listed Blue Mountains National Park.
Along the way you’ll pass views over the Jamison Valley towards Mount Solitary, patches of rainforest, waterfalls including Wentworth Falls and Katoomba Cascades, the iconic Three Sisters Aboriginal Place, hand-built historic and restored sandstone tracks and lookouts, and a fair chance of spotting lyrebirds and yellow-tailed black cockatoos.
NPWS markets the Grand Cliff Top Walk as a 2-day walk, and that’s how most people will experience it, with plenty of accommodation, cafes and restaurants ready to welcome walkers in the mountain villages of Wentworth Falls, Leura and Katoomba.
For walkers wanting a self-guided multi-day experience, NPWS suggests an 11km walk on day one, starting at Darwins walk at Wentworth Falls and finishing at Gordon Falls in Leura. Day two covers 8km from Gordon Falls, past the iconic Three Sisters, before finishing at Scenic World in Katoomba.
There’s no need for a heavy pack or camping gear on this one. Public transport is easy at both ends of the track, and with an array of accommodation and dining options nearby, it’s a reasonable introduction to multi-day walking if you haven’t done one before.
You can also choose your own adventure and break the walk into shorter half-day or full-day sections, since there are many suitable entry and exit points along the route. A selection of guided tours is on offer too, including multi-day packages or a NPWS ranger-guided 2-hour option if you just want to sample a short section of the track.
Building it took four years. As part of the Grand Cliff Top Walk project, NPWS put in more than 4,000 steps and 10km of track, using more than 4,000 helicopter lifts, and upgraded the lookouts along the route.
The walk gives visitors to Blue Mountains National Park, the most visited national park in NSW, a high-quality, safe and accessible way to connect with nature, and it supports the local economy in the process.
The Grand Cliff Top Walk is part of a network of 13 NSW Great Walks being established in NSW national parks, aimed at giving people more opportunities to spend time in nature for their physical and mental wellbeing, while building awareness of the environment and support for its conservation.
For more information visit nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/gctw
Find this hike on Trail Hiking Australia. NSW Parks officially markets the Grand Cliff Top Walk as a 2-day walk, and there’s a lot to be said for taking it at that pace, with the villages, food and accommodation along the route built around exactly that itinerary. My own view is that the 19km is achievable in a single day if you’ve got the fitness and endurance for it. Both are valid ways to walk it. If you’ve got the time up your sleeve, staying a while in the Katoomba area and spreading it over a few days gives you more room to enjoy everything else on offer nearby.
