Katoomba, New South Wales, Australia

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• published: 11 Jul 2014
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Katoomba is the largest and best-known town in the Blue Mountains region of the Australian state of New South Wales. Katoomba is located 106 km to the west of Sydney and lies 1,017 m above sea level. Katoomba developed as a popular mountain resort town in the early 20th century, a process aided by the advent of regular train services along the current line. The town reached an early heyday in the period between the wars, attested to today by the numerous examples of art deco architecture and shop fronts along the main street of the town. Today it serves as the main base for the mountains. It has the most shops with all the supplies you need, tourist offices, motels, restaurants and even some nightlife. However, it has lost the quaint village charm to Leura, its neighbour. The Scenic Skyway and Scenic Railway have been part of a visit to the Blue Mountains for as long as any Sydneysider can remember. The scenic railway is closed for renovations, and will be replaced entirely on new track. The scenic railway is a really steep caged railway, and gives quite a thrill. The front seat is best if you can get it. The scenic cableway is much more sedate as descends down into the forest, and although it is common to do the railway down and the cableway back, if you want to enjoy the ride and not just the view, you'll have more fun just taking the railway both directions. Down in the valley you can walk on boardwalks along in the rainforest, the avalanche and see some mining remnant artifacts. There can be crowds on weekends, but you'll still get on okay. Bushwalking in the valleys, including longer walks to the Ruined Castle and Mount Solitary. Watch out for large, noisy lyrebirds scratching up food on the ground. If you're not prepared for bushwalking in the mountains, stick to walks along the cliff base, or connect with a guide. Good shoes, a bottle of water and some sun protection are highly recommended. QUESTIONS? We would like to hear from you! If you have any comments or questions about this destination or just need some general travel advice, feel free to leave a comment below! ABOUT VideoVoyage.TV is a travel channel specializing in informative videos about various travel destinations around the world. We are publishing a short video every day starting with places around Southeast Asia, but planning to extend our coverage to Europe and the Caribbean in the upcoming months. SUBSCRIBE http://www.youtube.com/videovoyagetv?sub_confirmation=1 CONNECT Website: http://videovoyage.tv Google+: http://google.com/+videovoyagetv Twitter: http://twitter.com/videovoyagetv Instagram: http://instagram.com/videovoyagetv Tumblr: http://videovoyagetv.tumblr.com Facebook: http://facebook.com/videovoyagetv YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/videovoyagetv