The view from Echo Point is often compared to the Grand Canyon. Personally, I don't see much similarity, but that doesn't mean it isn't extraordinary. I was struck by the sheer immensity of the panorama before me - the vastness of the forest stretching to the horizon.
The main attraction here is the rock formation called Three Sisters. The three distinctive sandstone peaks were formed by erosion thousands of years ago. Several legends about the sisters are told by the aboriginal people. One states that three beautiful sisters fell in love with three brothers but were unable to marry them because of tribal laws. When the brothers decided to instigate a war and and capture the sisters, a witchdoctor turned the sisters into stone to protect them. Unfortunately, the witchdoctor was killed in the battle so he was unable to reverse the spell.
It was a chilly day at the lookout, and a steady wind was blowing.
We spent the rest of the day at a tourist attraction called Scenic World where you can enjoy the view via three different conveyances and an elevated boardwalk. The National Park and Scenic World actually occupy the same space. Anyone can enjoy the views from the lookouts for free, but you have to buy a Scenic World pass to ride the Skyway, Railway, and Cableway and to walk on the Walkway. We rode the Skyway first.
The Skyway passes close to this waterfall so you can get a pretty good view of it.
When we reached the other end of the Skyway, we took a short hike to Katoomba Cascades.
Next we rode the Scenic Railway which is billed as the steepest passenger train in the world. It drops 675 feet and has a maximum incline of 52 degrees. Although it has become a sort of roller coaster ride now, the track was once used to haul coal up the cliff that had been mined from the many miles of tunnels that permeate the mountains.
The Railway deposited us at another lovely lookout point at the start of the Scenic Walkway.
The elevated Walkway runs through the forest for about a mile and a half, finally arriving at the Cableway which takes you back up the mountain.
One last picture taken in the lovely late afternoon light.
We had read that The Three Sisters were illuminated by floodlights at night, so after dinner we returned to Echo Point Lookout. It was completely deserted and not quite the extravaganza we had expected, but the sky was full of stars so we had no complaints.
