Katoomba
Gateway to the Blue Mountains
schedule 1 min read / Updated Apr 2026
The largest town in the Blue Mountains, perched on the edge of the Jamison Valley. Echo Point and the Three Sisters lookout, the Scenic World cableways, and the Six Foot Track that drops to the Cox's River.
Katoomba sits 1,000 metres above sea level on Gundungurra and Darug country, an hour and a half by train from Sydney. The town's main street is full of art deco architecture from the 1930s when the Blue Mountains were Sydney's favourite weekend escape, and the Carrington Hotel still anchors the corner.
Echo Point is the most photographed lookout in the country, with the Three Sisters rock formation directly in front and the Jamison Valley dropping away to the west. Scenic World runs the steepest passenger railway in the world down to the valley floor, plus a cable car back up. The bushwalks range from a few minutes (Three Sisters) to multi-day (Six Foot Track to Jenolan Caves).
Katoomba is comfortable nine months of the year. Winter (June to August) is genuinely cold and frequently freezing at night, but the eucalypt forests and waterfalls are at their best. Summer afternoons can be pleasantly cool when Sydney is sweltering.
Things to see here
Highlights in Katoomba.
2 spots to visit
Things to do
Recommended Experiences
15 bookable experiences at or near Katoomba.
Scenic views
Lookouts near Katoomba.
You may also like
Attribution
Sources & credits
Content (1)
Images (3)
- Katoomba (AU), Katoomba Falls -- 2019 -- 1871.jpg · Dietmar Rabich · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Bleichert Mining Bucket in the Blue Mountains, near Katoomba... · Invenio · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Blue Mountains National Park (AU), Three Sisters -- 2019 --... · Dietmar Rabich · CC BY-SA 4.0
,_Katoomba_Falls_--_2019_--_1871.jpg){kind=link}
,_Three_Sisters_--_2019_--_1987-9.jpg){kind=link}
Images sourced from Wikimedia Commons under licenses that permit commercial use. If you are the rights holder and believe an attribution is incorrect, please contact us.