Wentworth Falls, Wentworth Pass & Valley of the Waters

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Route: Queens Cascade, National Pass, Giant Stairway, National Pass, Slacks Stairs, Wentworth Falls, Wentworth Pass, Valley of the Waters, Flat Rock Falls, Lodore Falls, Empress Falls, Empress Lookout, Overcliff Track, Wentworth Falls Lookout

Date: 18/07/2020
From: Wentworth Falls

Parking: Wilson Street
Start Point: Wentworth Falls
Finish Point: Wentworth Falls
Region: Blue Mountains National Park

Route length: 3.6 miles (5.8km)
Time taken: 03:10
Average speed: 1.2 mph
Ascent: 407m
Descent: 393m

Points of Interest: Wentworth Falls, National Pass, Valley of the Waters

Despite being the middle of winter here in the Southern Hemisphere it was warm and sunny as we left Sydney bound for a familiar area of the Blue Mountains - Wentworth Falls. So warm and sunny in fact that it had brought many people out to the epic scenery of the national park, so much so that the large Wentworth Falls car park was full when we arrived and we ended up parked on the streets of suburbia. 

After grabbing our modest selection of kit we left the car and quickly made our way to the first of many viewpoints; Jamison Lookout, which has a superb view across the Jamison Valley towards Mount Solitary. The Wentworth Falls track, which would take us to the base of the waterfall, starts close by.

Jamison and Mount Solitary from Jamison Lookout

Jamison Valley and Kedumba Walls

The top of Wentworth Falls

The National Pass - this is zoom of the photo below

The National Pass runs across the face the cliffs - see if you can pick it out.

The valley below Wentworth Falls

The Wentworth Falls Track passes Queen's Cascade, a pretty waterfall directly above the main Wentworth Falls. Sympathetic stone blocks allow you to cross the stream, even after heavy rain, while a metal rail stops you from straying too close to the 180m drop of Wentworth Falls. Once past the cascades, the track becomes the famed National Pass, one of the many tracks that link routes beneath the cliffs of the Blue Mountains.

The top of Wentworth Falls

Queen's Cascades

Top of Wentworth Falls

Joining the National Pass

The National Pass, perched high above the valley

National Pass is probably the most spectacular of the Blue Mountains passes thanks to its precipitous location on a ledge high up on the cliffs. It was built by a team nicknamed ‘the Irish Brigade’ for the cost of £430, using picks, shovels and dynamite. The entire track was the brainchild of a Scottish sea captain, James Murray.

On National Pass

Descending the steep steps of the Grand Stairway

Kedumab Walls on the opposite side of the valley

Jamison Valley

The first steep set of steps lead to the base of the Upper Wentworth Falls where the fine, misty water descends into a large pool. Beyond this, the National Pass extends out onto a ledge beneath a low overhand requiring you to crouch down to avoid banging your head. 

The top of Wentworth Falls

Wentworth Falls

The fine, misty water of Wentworth Falls

Having passed the falls, National Pass continues

National Pass

The full height of Wentworth Falls

After the ledge, we reached the place along the pass where it has been closed due to rockfall - a locked door, not unlike the entrance to a building site, bars the way (sadly, an NSW contractor lost his life during the rockfall so the pass remains closed until it is deemed safe to reopen). Fortunately, Slacks Stairs can be used to bypass the closed section of National Pass. 

Jamison Valley

Mount Solitary

Looking down Slacks Stairs

Slacks Stairs is one of the most interesting and surprising routes I've ever come across. After squeezing down a narrow chasm between the rocks, a series of enclosed ladders snake their way almost vertically towards the rainforest below. So steep are the ladders that the safest way to negotiate them is facing towards the rocks, as you would do on any normal ladder. 

The final obstacle is a short rock step that is aided by a few bolted iron rungs. They were so named to recognise Isaac Platt Slack, Parramatta Real Estate Agent and Auctioneer, who was Chairman of the Wentworth Falls Group of the Blue Mountains Sights Reserve Trust. The stairs were first constructed in the 1930s to link National and Wentworth Passes. 

Slacks Stairs

Looking down Slacks Stairs

Looking back up at the cliffs

After reaching the valley floor, we now followed a path back towards the base of Wentworth Falls. The lower falls are a repeat of the upper falls, falling over a sandstone lip into a shimmering plunge pool. Below the plunge pool is the option to continue along Wentworth Pass or descend into the rainforest along the Hippocrene Falls Track - the latter is a tricky path that's a challenge to follow, as I found out a few months ago.

The lower Wentworth Falls

This time we opted for the easier Wentworth Pass which skirts the base of the cliffs towards the Valley of the Waters. The pass (and the falls) are named after William Charles Wentworth, an Australian explorer and one of the leading figures of early colonial New South Wales. 

Heading out along Wentworth Pass

Wentworth Pass

Wentworth Pass

Crossing a small creek

In 1813 Wentworth, along with Gregory Blaxland and William Lawson, led the expedition which found a route across the Blue Mountains west of Sydney and opened up the grazing lands of inland New South Wales. Wentworth kept a detailed journal of the exploration.

The otherworldly Valley of the Waters

Valley of the Waters

Valley of the Waters

Wentworth Pass undulates along the base of the cliffs until it opens up towards the western end, approaching the Valley of the Waters. This valley is aptly named, instead of the single fall like Wentworth or Govetts Leap, the creek here makes its way down the cliffs in a series of spectacular, smaller waterfalls. The path, using boulders, steps and handrails gets you close to the action. The highlights along the climb are Sylvia Falls and Empress Falls 

Looking up the Valley of the Waters

Looking down the Valley of the Waters

Lodore Falls

Sylvia Falls

Atop Sylvia Falls

Empress Falls

The Valley of the Waters track makes a final clifftop dash via a series of wooden steps, finishing at the lookout which peers back down the valley. Here we joined the Overcliff Track which has recently reopened after some renovation. As the name suggests, the path runs across the top of the cliffs though much of the view is hidden behind a screen of trees and bushes.

Climbing out of the valley

Wooden steps lead the way

The path towards Empress Lookout

View from Empress Lookout

The Overcliff Track briefly lives up to its name

Shortly after joining the Overcliff Track, we deviated once again, taking a short cut back towards the car park at Wentworth Falls. Despite only clocking up a short distance, this loop is pretty tough thanks to the two extremely steep routes in and out of the valley. Back at the car park, we took a few moments to revisit the views from the morning before setting off back to Sydney - another fine Blue Mountains outing in the bag.

Mount Solitary and the Jamison Valley