Cliff Walk Blue Mountains Australia

Prince Henry Cliff Walk Katoomba Falls to Echo Point

In Katoomba, a small town in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, Australia, there's a nice walk, named Prince Henry Cliff Walk, you can take along the top of the cliffs overlooking the Jamison Valley.

I picked up the Cliff Walk trail near Scenic World, going past the Furber Steps towards Katoomba Falls and Three Sisters at Echo Point.

Wherever you can access this trail, you'll see signs such as this one in the picture directing you which way to go.

Prince Henry Cliff Walk Overlooking Jamison Valley Blue Mountains

Lookouts along the cliff walk are bump-outs on the trail, many of them marked with interpretive signs to tell you what you are looking at.

This sign indicates the Jamison Valley, with Mount Solitary (more of a large plateau) in the distance.

Days of rain and mist are fairly common in the Blue Mountains, and though a nice change from the heat of summer, they are not good for pictures or views.

I'd waited until the fourth day to get this fairly clear view across the valleys.

Prince Henry Cliff Walk after a few days of rain in Blue Mountains

The afternoon I did this cliff walk, the trails were covered in water and mud in many spots, like this section in the photo.

With a lot of walkers on this trail this day, I had to stop and wait for a clear path to continue.

This particular stretch of trail was really a challenge.

Rather than get up to my shoe tops in mud, I stepped just outside the safety railing, held on tight and crept across the outside edge, as did a few other walkers.

The drop offs are as sheer as the cliff face above the trail, and it is strongly recommended that walkers stay on the trails.

Wollumal Lookout, Prince Henry Cliff Walk, Katoomba Blue Mountains

Where Prince Henry Cliff Walk nears Cliff Drive (the main Katoomba road near the Skyway Station, Stop 22 on the Tour Bus route), some walkers gave up on the muddy trail.

Reasoning that I'd not pass this way again anytime soon, and that I had waited four days for better weather, I pushed on, to Wollumal Lookout, shown here.

If you decide to shorten your walk along this trail, then keep an eye out for signs for the tour bus stops and other options to get back to the main road.

Dramatic Drop Off Lookout Prince Henry Cliff Walk Blue Mountains

This picture gives an even better look at the drop offs from the Cliff Walk.

The lookout is fenced off well before the point of land overlooking the valley.

This area is all national parkland, and as close to wilderness as you'll find.

A few weeks before my visit, a fellow who was rock climbing a few kilometers east of here had a fall, and had to be rescued by helicopter. Luckily they were able to find his location from his GPS.

These Blue Mountains look so lovely, but they are vast and solitary in many places; except on the Cliff Walk trail on a summer holiday weekend :-)

From here, I continued up the trail to Three Sisters, where I caught my tour bus back to my hotel.

Related Blue Mountains: train to Katoomba; Jenolan Caves; Sydney; Blue Mountains;