There's something to be said about wet, misty days in the Blue Mountains. Get it wrong and you can find yourself trudging through an endless sea of grey with no views to speak of, but get it right, and you can find yourself richly rewarded with ever-shifting views of cloudy cliffs and valleys. Luckily, this wet-day hike around the Wentworth Falls area was the latter of the two.
Being a circuit, we opted to park on Falls Road, close to Wilson Park and the beginning of the Grand Clifftop Walk, where we'd finish later in the day. We'd be heading the opposite way, heading west along Armstrong Street until it reaches the Nature Trail Access, a path that continues westwards through the bush to the top of the Nature Track.
The Nature Track is a little hidden gem that winds a downhill course to the top of Empress Canyon. The beautiful path descends a series of wooden steps to a gully, which crosses via a metal footbridge. After a short climb out of the gully, the track arrives at a three-way intersection where you can visit Edinburgh Castle Rock, marked by a sign. The unfenced viewpoint comprises an interesting rock formation that has a view up the valley towards the houses on the ridge.
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| Edinburgh Castle Rock |
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| Misty views from Edinburgh Castle Rock |
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| Edinburgh Castle Rock |
The Nature Track heads down alongside the rock and then out to a ledge above the Valley of the Waters Creek, with views of Lillian's Glen. The path quickly descends further to the creek itself, crossing close to Asmodeus Pool. The pool is well hidden, and if you were not looking for it, you would probably miss it. There is a small wooden sign with a rough, short track behind it where you'll need to scramble up and along, then squeeze into the canyon. The beautiful pool is more than worth the effort.
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| An interesting section of the Nature Track follows this rock ledge |
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| Asmodeus Pool is behind the large rock; you can find a way around to the left |
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| Asmodeus Pool |
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| Asmodeus Pool |
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| The creek below Asmodeus Pool |
A short distance from Asmodeus Pool is Flora's Bath, another small waterfall hidden behind a tall sandstone outcrop; however, it is far easier to reach than Asmodeus Pool. Close to Floras Bat is a set of stepping stones allowing you to cross the creek just before it disappears into the depths of Empress Canyon. This is a popular canyoning route that emerges at the top of Empress Falls, further down the valley.
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| Flora's Bath |
Continuing on, the path follows the edge of the canyon until it meets the Grand Cliff Top Walk at a wooden bridge which allows you to peer into the depths of the canyon. Another short section of track leads to Isobel Falls and the top of the Valley of the Waters.
We had a short excursion down the upper section of the Valley of the Waters to inspect Empress Falls and Sylvia Falls — they are some of the best smaller waterfalls in the National Park, and the valley is quite spectacular. You cannot continue much further as the Wentworth Pass track is closed.
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| Empress Falls |
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| Valley of the Waters |
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| Sylvia Falls |
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| Valley of the Waters |
After checking out the waterfalls, we climbed back up to Empress Lookout and then the Overcliff Track, one of the best sections of tracks in the Blue Mountains, in my opinion. The Overcliff Track weaves a beautiful route along the top of the cliffs above the Jamison Valley and has some wonderful views along the way. The track passes Lyrebird Lookout and then follows a large rock wall to Breakfast Point, with its low stone wall and generally great views across the Jamison Valley when the weather is clear.
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| The Overcliff Track |
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| Misty cliff walls |
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| Inspiration Point |
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| Nothing to see from Breakfast Point |
Shortly after Breakfast Point is Den Fenella, where Den Fenella Creek breaches the cliffs. An out-and-back track will take you through the rainforest gully to a lookout; however, the gully itself is the real highlight. It is worth following the path down the set of steps to the bridge before retracing your route.
At Den Fenella, the Overcliff Track becomes the Undercliff Track, named as it now forges a route beneath the overhanging cliffs of the Kedumba Walls. There are two lookouts around the halfway mark: Eagles Nest and Princes Rock. Both have excellent views of Wentworth Falls; however, Eagles Nest is currently closed due to a landslip.
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| The Undercliff Track |
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| The Undercliff Track |
Following the lookouts is an interesting section of the Undercliff Track that passes beneath some low overhangs before it emerges at Fletchers Lookout. Fletchers Lookout has a good view of the top of Wentworth Falls, but the majority of the height of the waterfall is hidden. |
| Undercliff Track |
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| Fletchers Lookout, just as some more mist rolled in |
A visit to Wentworth Falls wouldn't be complete without visiting one of the area's most photographed features — the top of the Grand Stairway. This is easily reached from Fletchers Lookout by continuing downhill to the Queen's Cascades, where Jamison Creek falls over a small cascade before reaching Wentworth Falls. Stone blocks let you cross the creek above Wentworth Falls.
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| Queens Cascades |
After crossing the falls, you will find the dramatic beginning of the National Pass and the Grand Stairway. The stairway is a memorable section of the pass and is reported to be 'the tallest outdoor staircase in Australia'. It was built in the early 1900s by hand (and dynamite) by a team nicknamed 'the Irish Brigade' for the cost of £430. Today, the Grand Stairway is well-maintained and provides walkers access to the valley below Wentworth Falls. The fenced ledge above Wentworth Falls is truly spectacular.
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| National Pass |
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| The top of the Grand Stairway |
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| Wentworth Falls |
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| Inspiration Point and Sublime Point |
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| Some classic Blue Mountains cliff action |
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| Mists swirl over National Pass |
At the beginning of the stairway is the short Rocket Point Circuit — this is a worthwhile diversion. The lookout has a prime view of Wentworth Falls and doesn't see many visitors.
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| Wentworth Falls from Rocket Point |
After we explored the top of Wentworth Falls, it was time to return towards Leura, following the Charles Darwin Walk, which travels alongside Jamison Creek. Thanks to the Grand Clifftop Walk, many sections of the path have been refurbished with new bridges and pathwork, but there is still a section that is heavily flood-damaged and will likely be closed until 2025. Detours are in place until the upgrade works are completed.
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| The top of Wentworth Falls |
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| Weeping Rock |
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| Jamison Creek |
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| Jamison Creek |
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| The entry point to the Grand Clifftop Walk |
The track emerges in Wilson Park at the newly built entrance for the Grand Cliff Top Walk, the Blue Mountain's newest marked trail. While the truth is that Cliff Top Walk is just an amalgamation of several existing tracks (including the Overcliff-Undercliff), the advertisement for a 'new' hike in the Blue Mountains has certainly grabbed people's attention.
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