Ruined Castle 25-04-2021
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Route: Scenic World, Prince Henry Cliff Walk, Vanimans Lookout, Juliet's Balcony, Rainforest Lookout, Furber Steps, Queen Victoria Lookout, Vera's Grotto, Furber Steps, Federal Pass, Scenic Railway, Federal Pass, Miners Campsite, Ruined Castle Track, The Ruined Castle, Ruined Castle Ridge, Ruined Castle Track, Federal Pass, Katoomba Falls View, Federal Pass, Dardanelles Pass, Giant Stairway, Oreades Lookout, Three Sisters Track, Echo Point, Prince Henry Cliff Walk, Lady Darley Lookout, Katoomba Cascades, Reid's Plateau, Scenic World
Date: 25/04/2021
From: Scenic World
Parking: Scenic World
Start Point: Scenic World
Finish Point: Scenic World
Region: Blue Mountains National Park
Route length: 21.5km
Time taken: 07:11
Average speed: 3.3km/h
Ascent: 766m
Descent: 798m
Points of Interest: Furber Steps, Ruined Castle, Giant Stairway, Echo Point
The Ruined Castle is a bit of a Blue Mountains icon, seen by many but visited by few. The rocky turret stands adjacent to Mount Solitary and requires a fair hike along Federal Pass to reach it - those who do are rewarded with a spectacular 360-degree of the southern Blue Mountains.
Until recently, Ruined Castle had been off-limits due to fire damage but all is well in the world once again. The only limiting factor at the time of writing was the closure of the Golden Stairs due to a landslide meaning the closest access to the valley was via Furber Steps. What this meant was a much longer hike along Federal Pass - which would play a factor later in the day.
I started the day at Scenic World. Located to the southwest Katoomba town centre, Scenic World is a curious place, a sort of outdoor theme park home to a cable car (the Scenic Skyway) and the world's steepest railway - the 52-degree Scenic Railway (pedants might argue against whether it is, in fact, a true railway). More on that a little later.
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| Katoomba falls in the morning shade |
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| The Scenic World Scenic Skyway over the Three Sisters |
The great thing about Scenic World is free parking and access to some of the best tracks in the Blue Mountains, one of those being the Furber Steps. Reaching the steps first requires a short hike along the Prince Henry Cliff Walk and then detouring down towards Katoomba Falls.
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| The upper section of Katoomba Falls |
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| Descending the Katoomba Falls Track |
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| The Katoomba Falls Track |
Almost immediately the path stops at Vaniman's Lookout which has a prime view of Katoomba Falls, the western-most of the tall waterfalls which fall from the plateau to the valley below. The path descends further with Juliets Balcony having an equally good view of the falls.
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| The Rainforest Lookout |
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| Mount Solitary from Vaniman's Lookout |
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| The Kedumba River valley |
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| Katoomba Falls from Juliet's Balcony |
The Furber Steps begin from the junction with the Underfalls Walk. They start with a steady descent to Lynes Point/Queen Victoria Lookout before descending very steeply into the valley below, hugging the cliffs and passing beneath vast overhangs of sandstone. They are sensational but quite short-lived.
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| The Furber Steps below Queen Victoria Lookout |
After the steeper section of the steps, a short detour to Veras Grotto is an option. A large tree had fallen on the path when I visited but was negotiable. The small waterfall at Veras Grotto tends to dry up in the summer so the best time to visit is during the autumn or winter.
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| Vera Falls in Vera's Grotto |
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| The fallen tree blocking Vera's Grotto path |
Furber Steps end where they join Federal Pass, around halfway between the Scenic Station and Katoomba Falls View. If a climb out of the valley fills you with dread, I'd highly recommend using Furber Steps to descend and Scenic Railway to travel back up again (fees apply).
The Federal Pass is one of the longer tracks in the Blue Mountains, joining the town of Leura in the east to Ruined Castle in the west via the base of the cliffs. It was originally built by the Katoomba community, from Leura Forest to Katoomba Falls, before being extended along an old horse-drawn coal tramway line. From the bottom of Furber Steps, I'd be hiking the section out to the Ruined Castle.
Heading west, Federal Pass leads to the bottom of the Scenic Railway. The station here has a good view back to the Three Sisters. The original railway was built in the late 19th century to serve the Katoomba coal mine, now serving Scenic World carrying passengers down into the rainforests. It holds a Guinness World Record for the steepest railway gradient (but - a fact for train fans - it is not a true funicular as it uses a winch and no counterbalancing carriage).
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| Looking along the Kedumba River valley from the Scenic Railway station |
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| The Scenic Railway |
Close to the station is another of Scenic Worlds' attractions - the Scenic Walkway. This is a short, suspended boardwalk through the ancient rainforest with several information boards dotted along the route - a worthwhile diversion, even if you have to dodge around the odd crowd of tourists. After the walkway, Federal Pass immediately becomes rougher and less well looked after, a clear sign that you have broken free from the tourist traps of the Kedumba Valley.
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| One of the old mining levels along Federal Pass |
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| Federal Pass above the Scenic Walkway |
Federal Pass reaches an area called the landslide, so named after a huge section (some 500m) of the cliff slipped into the valley below in the 1930s. The slip took the trees with it so a vague path winds through the debris in the open sun. There would be a better view of the landslide later, as the path makes a wide arc around the head of the valley of Causeway Creek.
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| Looking over the Causeway Creek valley |
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| Mount Solitary and Ruined Castle are separated by Cedar Gap |
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| Ruined Castle |
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| A large fallen block at the landslide |
Once beyond the landslide, the path delves into the forest once again, closing in on the Golden Stairs - the most westerly of the clifftop stairways. Beyond here, Federal Pass meanders through the bush for a few kilometres until it reaches the first of several camping spots below Ruined Castle.
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| Crimson Rosella |
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| Federal Pass |
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| A recent landslide close to the Golden Stairs |
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| Federal Pass |
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| Approaching the Miner's Campground |
After the Miner's Campsite (a large cleared area once home to the mining communities of the Blue Mountains), Federal Pass reaches a junction where a branch climbs away to the west. This is the track to the Ruined Castle. It is steep for a short distance before it gains the crest of the ridge before climbing more gently towards the summit.
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| Starting the climb to Ruined Castle |
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| Castle Head looms over the trees |
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| The ridge leading to the Ruined Castle |
Eventually, I reached the large rocks that are the Ruined Castle, emerging from the bush below the first large buttress - you cannot access the rocks from, however. Instead, a path continues a short distance further to an area where the rocks are more broken and provide an interesting route up. The tallest of the rocks is accessible by an easy scramble and reveals a superb 360 panorama.
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| Ruined Castle |
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| Causeway Creek valley |
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| Mount Solitary |
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| Ruined Castle and Castle Head |
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| Castle Head |
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| Ruined Castle has a fine view of Mount Solitary |
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| The steep Korrowall ridge leading onto Mount Solitary |
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| Atop Ruined Castle |
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| The superb view from the Ruined Castle |
My original plan for the day was to continue on and explore Mount Solitary, but I hadn't factored in the distance from Furber Steps to Ruined Castle. It was already 13.30 and I estimate it's a good two-hour climb to Mount Solitary - not leaving enough daylight to get back to Katoomba. After some deliberation, I thought better of it.
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| Mount Solitary |
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| Cedar Creek and the Narrowneck Plateau |
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| Ruined Castle |
In order to make the most of the day, I decided to backtrack along Federal Pass as far as the Giant Stairway beneath the Three Sisters, ideally arriving at the famous attraction around sunset. So, over the course of a few hours, I made my way back to the bottom of the Furber Steps and continued eastwards along Federal Pass, retracing my route from the morning.
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| A rough path descends southwards from Ruined Castle |
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| The Ruined Castle campsite - the green structure is a rainwater tank |
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| Miner's campsite |
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| Federal Pass |
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| There are plenty of signs warning of landslips |
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| The dramatic landslide on Malaita Wall |
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| The Three Sisters |
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| Below the Malaita Wall landslide |
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| Narrowneck Plataeu |
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| Crimson Rosella |
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| A train in the Scenic Railway station |
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| Federal Pass |
Federal Pass crosses the Kedumba River and then extends through the bush to the tip of the Three Sisters ridge where it meets Dardanelles Pass, a path built to link the Giant Stairway to the Federal Pass. Federal Pass actually dips down into the rainforest from here while Dardanelles Pass cuts a level course, both meeting nearly 2km later.
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| Federal Pass |
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| Federal Pass |
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| The Dardenelles Pass branch |
Halfway along Dardanelles Pass are the bottom of the Giant Stairway. The 1000 steps are narrow and steep, protected from an imposing drop by a sturdy guardrail and provides a swift way up and down the 300m cliffs below the Three Sisters. The stairway was conceived in 1914 and construction began in 1916 but was deemed too expensive after only a quarter had been built. It was not until 1932 that work was re-commenced after lobbying by a local photographer. The Giant Stairway was eventually opened by the NSW Premier, the Hon. B.S.B. Stevens at the same time as the platform at Echo Point.
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| The Jamison Valley and Mount Solitary |
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| The bottom of the Giant Stairway |
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| Starting the climb up the Giant Stairway |
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| One of the many twists and turns |
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| Briding a gap in the cliffs |
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| Looking down the Giant Stairway |
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| A shadowy Jamison Valley |
The steps pass Honeymoon Bridge, a short structure that joins the steps to a small cave within the first of the sandstone towers. Climbers will have used it to access climbing zones on the Three Sisters before climbing was prohibited.
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| The iconic view of the Three Sisters - the smoke was from a nearby hazard reduction burn, a common sight during the winter |
The commonly told legend of the Three Sisters is that three sisters, Meehni, Wimlah and Gunnedoo, lived in the Jamison Valley as members of the Katoomba tribe. They fell in love with three men from the neighbouring Nepean tribe, but the marriage was forbidden by tribal law. The brothers were not happy to accept this law and so decided to capture the three sisters. A major tribal battle ensued, and the sisters were turned to stone by an elder to protect them, but he was killed in the fighting and no one else could turn them back.
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| The Three Sisters |
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| Panorama from Echo Point |
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| Dusk falls over the Blue Mountains |
After enjoying a subdued sunset from the lookout, I still had a couple of kilometres of hiking to get back to the car park at Scenic World. The paths here are all very well defined so there is no chance of getting lost in the dark. In fact, the path between Katoomba Cascades and Scenic World has been illuminated, including the short circuit of Reids Plateau. If you find yourself in the area after dark, I'd recommend it.
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| Malaita Wall |
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| Prince Henry Clifftop Walk |
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| Distance cliffs of the lower Blue Mountains |
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| Prince Henry Clifftop Walk |
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| Katoomba Cascades |
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| The illuminated path at Kedumba River |
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| Approaching the Duke & Duchess of York Lookout |
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| Katoomba Falls |
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| Orphan Rock |
Before long I had made it back to the car park after a long day in the bush. It was disappointing not to reach Mount Solitary but it was only down to my own tardiness so there is only one person to blame. I think I'll save it for the coming spring when the days are longer and the Golden Stairs should be accessible again.
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