Grand Cliff Top Walk - A Comprehensive Guide - Wentworth Falls to Katoomba - Blue Mountains - 4K
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- Опубликовано: 28 июл 2024
- The Grand Cliff Top Walk opened in time for Easter 2024 and is a joint project between Blue Mountains City Council and NSW National Parks. It joins a network of walking tracks from Wilson Park at Wentworth Falls right through to Scenic World at Katoomba.
Taking 4 years to construct, repair and upgrade the 19kms of walking tracks with over 10 million dollars being spent in the creation of this new Grand Cliff Top Walk.
This walk can be done as suggested over 2 days, with stage 1 from Wentworth Falls to Gordon Falls Reserve at Leura, and then stage 2 from Gordon Falls Reserve through to Scenic World at Katoomba. Of course, like we did, you can do it as one long day, or, just do much smaller sections of the total walk.
We left a vehicle near Scenic World and drove back down to Wilson Park at Wentworth Falls to start our walk on the Charles Darwin Walk.
At the time of filming (Easter 2024), there were still upgrade and repair works underway in some sections and a number of detours in place.
Over 5000 sandstone steps and stepping stones were installed as part of these upgrade works as well as multiple new bridges and boardwalks. All new signage has been installed for the walks in general, as well as new trail markers for the Grand Cliff Top Walk. We did feel that more of the latter was required, particularly detailing distances from the start and finish at each marker.
The road bash section from the Fairmont Resort is quite long before you again enter the bush tracks, there was no defined footpath along here, and we were a little disappointed that for a Grand Cliff Top Walk, no new track was created to keep you away from suburban streets. (Yes, we know, it would be quite an expensive task, but, we found it detracted from the experience as a whole).
By default, with no side tracks, the walk is around 19kms from end to end. We did just under 24kms with a LOT of side tracks to lookouts and waterfalls etc. Stage 1 is suggested at 11kms and stage 2 at 8kms. You could do the walk in reverse from Katoomba to Wentworth Falls and have less uphill, as you do gain quite a bit of altitude during this walk.
We did not visit all the side tracks and lookouts on this walk, there are just so many options for extending the walk, plus, we did not detour down to the base of Empress Falls, due to crowds on the day and having visited many times before.
Make sure you take PLENTY of water and snacks. You can fill up at Wilson Park before you start, at the Conservation Hut, at Gordon Falls Reserve, Echo Point and at Maple Grove Picnic Area Katoomba. DO NOT be tempted to drink untreated water from any of the creeks or waterfalls, it may look clean, but, they are all fed from urban runoff, and you could end up quite sick. Not worth the risk! We went through about 5L each, as it was quite warm on the day we did it.
There are a few places along the way or not far off the main track where you can get food, Conservation Hut at Wentworth Falls, a Food Van at Gordon Falls Reserve, Echo Point and finally at Scenic World. Take all your rubbish with you!
Toilets are few and far between, At Wilson Park at Wentworth Falls, Wentworth Falls Picnic Area, Conservation Hut Wentworth Falls, Gordon Falls Reserve, Echo Point, Katoomba Cascades area and Scenic World.
The majority of this track is not wheelchair or stroller accessible, consisting of bush tracks and stairs.
Before setting out on this walk, check the Blue Mountains City Council and NSW National Parks websites for any track closures.
If you liked this video guide on the Grand Cliff Top Walk from Wentworth Falls to Katoomba in the Blue Mountains, please like it, make a comment and consider subscribing to our channel. We have plenty of videos coming up for canyoning and bushwalking all the time.
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CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction
00:37 Starting Stage 1 - Wilson Park
01:43 Wentworth Falls Lookout
01:54 Weeping Rock Circuit
02:20 Fletchers Lookout
03:04 Den Fenella
03:24 Den Fenella Lookout
03:44 Breakfast Point Lookout
03:50 Lyrebird Lookout
04:12 Queen Victoria Lookout
04:20 Empress Lookout
05:08 Lillians Bridge
06:41 Golf Links Lookout
06:57 Pool of Siloam
07:16 End of Stage 1 - Gordon Falls Reserve
07:27 Gordon Falls Lookout
07:35 Starting Stage 2
07:53 Elysian Rock
07:57 Buttenshaw Bridge
08:26 Bridal Veil View Lookout
08:55 Leura Cascades Lower Sections
09:03 Leura Cascades Lookout
09:09 Evelyns Lookout
09:36 Bridal Veil Lookout
09:42 Fossil Rock Lookout
09:41 Kiah Lookout
10:04 Burrabarroo Lookout
10:14 Honeymoon Point
10:20 Millamurra Lookout
10:23 Tallawalla Lookout
10:32 Lady Carrington Lookout
10:52 Spooners Lookout
10:58 Echo Point & 3 Sisters
11:30 Lady Darley Lookout
11:49 Allambie Lookout
11:58 Wallumai Lookout
12:29 Katoomba Cascades
12:38 Duke & Duchess of York Lookout
12:49 Katoomba Falls Lookout
13:11 The summing up
Its good to see that money has been spent to upgrade the National Park, and thanks for another great vid and the same info you provide for each video. Take care Ian.
The upgrades ro these tracks and linking them for suh a grand walk sure is great! The views all along this one are spectacular!
I’m lucky enough to get the yellow tailed cockatoos visit my back yard, in the southern highlands nsw. What a magnificent country we have, a real gift. 🌖
Wow! You are lucky to have them.visit your backyard! We sure do live in the most wonderful country! It's walks such at TGCTW that really showcase our beautiful Blue Mountains!
Inspiring!
Thanks so much, if you do the walk, hope you enjoy it
Fantastic guide giving lots of details for all the lookouts and the walk. Thanks
Thanks so much, glad you got so much out of it, we did not even visit every lookout available, some were closed and others we were running out of time.
Ripper video. We have only stuck our noses down our local section of Darwin's Walk so far. We are planning on tackling this in two stages as while we are keen bushwalkers, we probably aren't fit enough to do it in one go.
Thank you for filming and uploading this. It was fantastic.
So glad you enjoyed the video so much. Most of the walk is quite nice, not a fan of the road sections, but, they are expected to be upgraded in time.
Doing it in 2 stages is a good idea. We are so looking forward to the completion of the Darwin Walk.
Thanks , a great guide to a great walk !
Thanks so much, it is on the whole, a great walk.
A great guide to a great walk!
Thanks so much Tom, a lot of work went into this one.
@@shoesonmyfeet6056 It shows in the details!
The editing took almost as long as the walk! We appreciate you saying that it shows.
Thanks for this video! - didn't know about this walk and now definitely planning to give it a go, but maybe in 2 stages. Agree that Echo Point is usually heaving with tourists - exception is first thing in the morning before the tour buses start rolling in, definitely the best time to be there
This is a great trek, with so many options, the road bash section did not impress us much at all. 2 stages is a good way to do it. Gives you more time to do side trips to lookouts and other features.
We are glad you enjoyed the video, we put a lot of time and effort into our video guides. We hope it shows.
It is a brilliant idea to film your walk to inspire and guide others. Appreciate your efforts in executing it.
Thank you so much for the positive feedback. We live in an amazing country and it is a gift to be able to complete these adventures and share to share them, either to inspire, or for those who are unable, to be able to see some of this beauty for themselves. 😊
Amazing country, yes. Your point about sharing to those who are unable is something that I value most. I do share my travel videos as well. I know what you would have gone through filming and editing these videos to such a high quality. Thank you on behalf of those who cannot climb all those 5000 steps.
We enjoy filming and sharing these amazing locations. We try to keep ourselves to a high standard and we strive to keep that standard. It all takes time and planning.
When people such as yourself take the time to comment and appreciate what we do, it makes it all worthwhile.
Thanks for that, lovely. I did section one over Easter... crowded as, but thankfully we started at Gordon Falls and walked down to Wentworth Falls. It's a lot easier passing people going t'other way than trying to overtake slower walkers! We walked down to Empress Falls too and it was a seething mass of teenagers swimming and abseilers (seiling?) but still worth the visit. It should be obvious not to drink the water but tourists may not realise it is partly urban runoff. Also though I am a well seasoned bush walker and have walked these tracks many times, some of the directions posts especially along the road detours are easily overlooked.
Thanks for your comment. Glad you liked the walk, we have been to and down Empress Falls many times so did not revisit for the video.
There are so many ways to do this walk, and that is a great thing about it.
Signage, we liked the upgraded "general" signage, but thought the black cockatoo signage was too little and too far apart. Would have liked to see more of them, and all of them have the distances.
Amazing guide as usual !
Glad you liked that one, we put a bit of time and effort into that one and it has been quite popular, just as this walk has been. It is good to have so many people wanting to get out and do a walk!!
Great video! Lots of editing. "Duke & Duchess of York Lookout"... The only cringe worthy part of this magnificent walk. More Indigenous names would make it a lot better! Well done to all those workers who built this epic peice of infrastructure 💪✌️❤️
Glad you like the video, yes, about 8 hours of editing this one, about 21 minutes of footage on the cutting room floor.
Massive undertaking by all those who played a part in all the track upgrades, particularly the Charles Darwin Walk upgrades that are still being undertaken.
We hope you checkout some of our other videos on our channel.
Great details and description. How many hours does it take to complete this 19km track?
Thanks so much, time will depend on so many things really. It may take you most of the day, it may take you less, you may need 2 days. The way we went, with all the filming, was 9.5h.
Fantastic guide to this great new walk! Really enjoyed the commentary and advice. How long did it take you guys to do it in one go?
For us, and keep in mind, one of us is still limping a bit, plus all the filming, waiting for people to move, reshooting, and all the side trips that added up to another 5km, 9.5 hours for us. Other people have done the basic 19kms in anything from 6.5 to 8.5 hours.
Glad you enjoyed the video.
Amazing, how long does it takes from you? And how you can back to your car from the point where you started?
Glad you liked it, it took us almost 10 hours with filming and visiting lots of lookouts. We took 2 cars. You can train back from Katoomba to twenty falls station and then less than 10 minutes walk to car.
Thanks for posting this video. What time did you start and finish the walk?
You are most welcome, and I'm glad you liked the video. We do try to create videos that give people a good idea of what they will experience when out walking.
We completed the walk in under 10 hours which included filming time (which can take a while waiting for people to move out of the area you are trying to film), plus a long break for lunch at Gordon Falls picnic area and a mid-morning stop at the Consevation Hut, and an ice cream from the tourist information centre at Echo Point.
We walked at quite a leisurely but consistent pace as both of us were recovering from foot injuries at the time of filming.
Let us know how you go when you do the Grand Cliff Top Walk, we would love to hear how you found it 😊
@@shoesonmyfeet6056 Thanks very much for your response, truly appreciated!
Not a problem, would love to hear how you found the walk after you have done it.
Great video that covers the entire walk 😊. Is parking free? Im having trouble finding info in a google search. I am on a motorbike and I have no place to put the parking ticket 😢. It would be great if you made a video of how to take advantage of the new trails in ways not possible before where we can do a quick day trip and see as many different waterfalls as possible before returning to the same parking lot. I cant imagine anyone wanting to do the entire walk if they drove there. They should have spent that money to landscape a botanic garden and walkway along the river between the bottom of the three sisters staircase and the scenic railway like a magical fairy rainforest.
Glad you enjoyed the video. There are some free parking in places, Wilson park at the start is free, but many other places they charge for. Let us know what you think when you do the walk. At the moment there are more detours in place due to the recent rain event a week ago.
Amazing video and really detailed. How long roughly is the walk from Wentworth Falls to Gordon falls in Leura?
Glad you liked the video, with no side trips around 11kms.
Sorry I meant how long does it take roughly to complete? We're planning to travel with a 6 year old but not sure if he will make it 😅@@shoesonmyfeet6056
That is a really tough question to answer, that part for us, with many, many side trips, it took us 4.5 hours. It may be shorter or longer for you of course.