Grand Cliff Top Walk: Wentworth Falls to Leura
Come with us as we walk the first 11km section of the 19km Grand Cliff Top Walk.
In 2025, the weekend before the 2025 Aussie Peace Walk, we are hosting the Sydney IML IVV Cup walking event comprising guided 10km and 20km walk options.
In the week between the Sydney and Canberra events, we have proposed several other (IVV accredited) walks. One of these is the two-day Grand Cliff Top Walk in the Blue Mountains. My husband and I took to the trails to test these walks and have provided this account of our adventures.
About Our Walk
The area has stunning views and some quaint towns with lots of accommodation and eating options. Three well known towns along the route are Wentworth Falls (at the start of the walk), Leura (where we split the walk into two days) and Katoomba (at the end of the walk).
There are a range of accommodation options, from budget backpacker to more expensive heritage hotels. We chose to stay in Katoomba for this trip, at the historic Carrington Hotel, which is very close to the train station.
When we do the walk again in March we will be staying at the Grandview Hotel in Wentworth Falls, which is not as luxurious – and the view is not that grand, but it is again close to the train station and the start of the walk.
Part One:
Wentworth Falls (village) to Gordon Falls, then to Leura – nominally 11km, but actual distance walked was up to 14km with 678m of elevation change.
The Blue Mountains is a large plateau located west of Sydney, easily accessed via regular train services from Sydney’s Central Railway Station. (Allow 1.5 to 2 hours for the trip.)
The Blue Mountains National Park covers an area of approximately 2,680 square kilometers (about 1,035 square miles).
Why are The Blue Mountains blue?
The mountains gets its name because of the blue haze that surrounds them. This occurs due to the eucalyptus trees that cover the area release minute droplets of oil into the air, which mix with dust particles and water vapor. When sunlight hits these droplets, it scatters light in a way that creates a blue hue.
This is why the mountains appear to be cloaked in a distinctive blue mist. It’s a beautiful natural phenomenon that adds to the charm of the mountains.
The walk is nominally split into two sections of 11km and 8km respectively. At face value it would seem simple enough to combine the walks into just one day of 19km, but there is a considerable elevation change each day, with so many steps to navigate, that it would be a very challenging walk in one hit!
The only downside of breaking the walk at Gordon Falls is that this is about 1.5km south of the train station in Leura, so it adds to the overall distance that is walked.
The Grand Cliff Top Walk was officially opened in 2024. While many of the trails have been around for a very long time, recent works have been undertaken to link the various trails into a relatively seamless journey.
That said, the area is subject to various forces of nature that can close parts of the route for repairs, which we discovered early in our walk. Details of closures and detours can be found here.
Our total time was 7.5 hours, which included the train to the start, a detour and stop for refreshments along the way, and the final walk up to Leura and the train back to Katoomba.
After breakfast at our hotel, we headed to the railway station to catch the train to Wentworth Falls. Then a short walk across the main highway led to Wilson Park, where an impressive stone wall marked the trail’s start.
The first section is along Darwin’s Walk, following Jamison Creek, which flows over Wentworth Falls. This is an easy section of the walk, with several bridges and boardwalks.
Unfortunately, the signage here can be a little confusing, but it’s easy enough when you remember to stay by the creek and not take any of the paths that detour away.
Part way along this walk, we encountered a route closure and detour that added an extra hill and distance to our walk. Fortunately, this took us to the main Wentworth Falls lookout with panoramic views (and toilets nearby – otherwise there are no toilets on the main walk). The downside (apart from the extra distance) was that we didn’t walk past Weeping Rock – we could have detoured back to get closer, but our view from the other side was good and likely afforded a better view.
Wollemi Pine
In 1994, researchers discovered the Wollemi pine at a secret location about 200km NW of Sydney, deep in the Blue Mountains. Fewer than 100 mature trees were found thriving in a hidden canyon.
The Wollemi pine is the only surviving member of its genus, with its closest relatives dating back more than 90 million years, with no fossil evidence in over 10 million years; hence, the Wollemi is considered a “living fossil”.
The Wollemi pine has since been cultivated for the commercial market. These trees can grow up to 40m, so are perhaps not suitable for the average home garden, but you can see some in the botanical gardens in Canberra. The Aussie Peace Walk 24km route on Sunday passes right by them. There is also a plantation in the National Arboretum.
Once back on the main trail, we saw the Wentworth Falls (the falls the town is named for) from various vantage points. The water drops 100m into the valley out of sight, so it is difficult to see the full glory of the falls from this vantage point, but they are certainly quite beautiful.
There are many lookout points along the way. Some are just meters off the main trail and others are a distance away; so we would often toss up whether the detour was worthwhile… (we became less enthusiastic as the day progressed!)
The trail itself consisted of quite varied terrain. There were large sandstone stepping-stones in places, and lots and lots and lots and lots of steps!
At one stage the trail went under the cliff edge, with little headroom for taller walkers. In places, it felt a bit like walking in a tropical rainforest with ferns and dripping water off the rocks. And while the walk is called the grand cliff “top” walk, it was really the cliff edge walk most of the way, with considerable drops to the side. I am normally somewhat averse to heights, but I never felt scared on the walk – but it could be challenging for some.
The walk description mentions an option to take a ‘small but steep detour’ up to the Conservation Hut café, which we elected to do. The short but steep detour consisted of 222 steps up and 222 steps back down again (it certainly didn’t feel short, so I counted on the return!).
This detour provided an extra toilet option, plus was a welcome rest and refreshment spot. We had not come across any other seats along the walk to date, and only two after this point. As a bonus, I also saw my first lyrebird in the wild and I encountered a man at the café from Maitland who was also wearing a long sleeve Aussie Peace Walk shirt the same as mine.
After our rest stop, the walk continued with more and more steps. At one point, the trail exits the national park at the Fairmont Resort and goes through the south of Leura before re-entering the park. At this stage, we get our first views of the iconic Three Sisters, from a perspective that few people would see.
The last part of the walk involves a steep climb down to the Pool of Siloam; perhaps my favourite place on the walk – very tranquil and a delightful reprieve after so many steps down to this spot. Sadly, we then had another monster climb back up to finish the walk, then the walk through Leura to get to the train station.
Day One was a wonderful, albeit tough walk, but there are options to shorten the walk if needed.
The first option would be to head back to Wentworth Falls from the Conservation Hut café (about a 2.5km walk, for a total distance of 9km).
Alternatively, skip the last very steep section after the Fairmont Resort and head straight back to Leura (about a 3km walk, for a total distance of 12km).
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