National Pass Walking track | Blue Mountains

Let me take you on one of the gorgeous walking tracks in the Blue Mountains (Sydney, Australia). The Blue Mountains National Pass track not only offers stunning views of the Jamison Valley but is also waterfall dense, especially after the rain. You will come across waterfalls, creeks, narrow steep rocky paths, and a giant staircase carved on the side of the mountain. This is for anyone who loves hiking, nature, and a sense of adventure.

The Blue Mountains National Pass track is a tough Grade 4 track about 5-6 km long (depending on the trails) and takes about 3 hours or longer to finish – depending on your fitness. You will need a little bit of bushwalking experience and good fitness (especially when going uphill as it can be exhausting).

I was extremely excited to do this hike as it was my first after pregnancy. My husband and I have done it a number of times, with people of all age groups. From 10-year-old cousin to my 70-year-old father-in-law.

We started the walk from Conservation Hut instead of Wentworth Falls Picnic area, mostly because we couldn’t find a parking spot near the picnic spot. The hike is very popular so expect a fair bit of crowd near the top section of the track. We ended up giving way to many people as we went downhill and uphill. As you go deeper into the mountains, you will come across only a few other hikers.

Empress Falls Lookout is the first viewpoint that we came across. From here I could already hear the sound of the waterfall.

empress lookout blue mountains national pass australia — Empress Falls Lookout (2017)

With the sound of Empress Falls in the backdrop, we climbed down the wet stairs, holding on to railings and sturdy rocks. A group of daredevils was getting ready to abseil down the waterfall and jump into the pool of water below.

empress falls blue mountains national pass australia

Sylvia Falls is not far away. The stairs take you along the side of the falls where you can admire it up and close. Due to the rains in the past few weeks, the waterfalls were swelling with water and the stairs were both slippery and muddy.

The sunlight filtering between the trees made the view even more magical.

sylvia waterfalls blue mountains national pass

One of the paths was so narrow (4th picture), that I could barely fit my thighs between the rocks. I somehow managed to climb up by walking sideways.

We also came across Lodore Falls followed by this waterfall. I don’t really know what it is called, but it looked beautiful.

After about 1.5 hours of walking, we reached the bottom of Wentworth Falls – a magnificent 3 tiered waterfall. The below picture is the lower part of the falls.

wentworth falls blue mountains national pass

The lower part is less busy compared to the upper part of the falls. The upper part of Wentworth falls was teeming with people as it is much more accessible from the car park (20 min walk).

There are many stairs like these while going uphill. And I love them.

Photos from my previous hike

View of Wentworth Falls as we started our ascent. The car park is still a good 1 hour away from here.

blue mountains national pass wentworth falls

Overhanging rocks, slipper foothold, and a marvelous view of the waterfall. This is my definition of a blissfull day.

The Giant Stairway made my heart race, and legs tremble. The calves, hamstrings, glutes – they all felt it. These steep stairs are built on the side of the mountain, secured by railings. These are hand-carved stairs that connect the top of the waterfall to the Valley below.

blue mountains national pass giant stairway

This section of the walk was very busy that day so couldn’t get a chance to stop and admire the view. But here’s a picture from my last hike. The views will stay with you for a long time.

giant stairway - blue mountains national pass

We crossed the next section quickly as the path is fairly easy. Also, it could be because we had climbed a lot of stairs.

It took us another 30 mins to walk from the picnic area to the spot where we had parked our car. We walked for a total of 8km that day. After reaching home I slept for 2 hours straight, while my father-in-law went for another walk in the evening. 🙂

Notes:

-> Carry a hat, water, and sunscreen.
-> Wear comfortable clothes and good shoes.
-> Do not feed the wildlife, in case you come across any.
-> Car parking, bbq, and toilets available in the picnic area and near the Conservation hut.