Best Lookouts in the Blue Mountains National Park

Sharing is caring!

We’re off on our six months Australia road-trip, and our first stop was the Blue Mountains National Park. Having lived in Sydney for the past three years, it’s not the first time we’re visiting this amazing National Park. In fact, we’ve probably been there close to ten times, either alone or with visiting friends and family to visit the many lookouts in the Blue Mountains National Park. It’s only a couple of hours west of Sydney, so perfect for a day trip or weekend stay.

Tip: If you’re staying in Sydney, on a Sunday (Opal Card cheap travel day) you can take a return train ride to the Blue Mountains for only AU$2.60! Pretty crazy, seen as it takes 2 hours each way and the views from the train can be stunning too. 

As the Blue Mountains are so close to Sydney, it is one of the most popular day trips to take for visitors and residents alike. But unfortunately, most people don’t venture any further than Echo Point Lookout by the Three Sisters. It certainly is one of the best lookouts in the Blue Mountains, but it’s extremely crowded. Tour buses come and go all day, and you’re almost guaranteed to be hit with a selfie-stick while trying to get a good photo of the infamous Three Sisters.

What most visitors don’t realise: Only a few miles away, you’ll be the only one around! Lookouts just as spectacular, but with nobody else there. Sure, there are no tour buses or public transport here, but to explore the Blue Mountains properly, you should be coming in a car anyways or at least hiring one once you’re there.

So now that we’ve seen most of the lookouts around the Blue Mountains, here are our favourites:

The Best Lookouts In The Blue Mountains National Park

Pulpit Rock:

Pulpit Rock caught us by surprise. We didn’t really look this one up in detail, so we were blown away when we got there. The lookout towards the rock as well as the other lookouts on top of the rock itself are all quite spectacular. The cliffs are impressive and standing up on the ridge of Pulpit Rock certainly is a great feeling.

From Blackheath, it’s about five minutes on paved roads, five minutes on dirt roads, and another five minutes walking down quite a few steps until you get to Pulpit Rock. This is also the lookout displayed on the title image of this post.

Anvil Rock:

Anvil Rock is basically just a bit further down the road from Pulpit Rock, not even ten minutes in the car. From the car park, you’ll have to walk for about five minutes until you reach Anvil Rock. Since the rock is higher than all of its immediate surroundings, you’ll be rewarded with 360º views.

When we visited this spot, a thunderstorm had only just passed through, the remains of which you can see in this photo:

Evans Lookout:

You can drive right up to this one, it doesn’t require any walking. It’s also only a few minutes by car from Blackheath and provides great views of the opposite cliffs and the valley. If you’d like to hike down into the valley, you can do so via the so called Grand Canyon Walking Trek. There’s a campsite down there too, so you can make it an overnight hike.

Govetts Leap:

Govetts Leap is located in between Pulpit Rock and Evans Lookout, and is the closest lookout to Blackheath. It’s often referred to as the best lookout in the Blue Mountains! Sadly, when we went, it was closed off, so we’ll have to come back 🙁

Echo Point:

For sure the most popular place in the Blue Mountains. It’s a great lookout, with views not only of the Three Sisters, but also of the vast valleys down below. This might also be the best place to spot the blue haze, which gave the area its name. A lot of walking trails (anything between 20 minute walks and overnight hikes) start from here as well. Unfortunately, it’s just too busy to properly enjoy the scenery, especially in high season.

Early morning would be the best time to visit in terms of crowds, but the light conditions are usually best in the afternoon or evening.

Three Sisters:

You can not only see the Three Sisters from Echo Point, you can also walk right up to them. It only takes five minutes from Echo Point and is definitely worth the few steps. Unfortunately, in terms of crowds, the same applies for this lookout as for Echo Point.

Prince Henry Cliff Walk (West):

Walk along the Prince Henry Cliff Walk westwards from Echo Point and it’ll take you past many little viewpoints like Lady Darley’s Lookout, Allambie Lookout, Wollumai Lookout and Cliff View Lookout towards Katoomba Falls. The lookouts are all fairly similar, but if you want to go for a short walk, it’s a great way to do so.

Eagle Hawk Lookout:

Another lookout in Katoomba, very close to the Scenic World. Walking here from Echo Point would take just over an hour with great views along the way, but you can also park right by the lookout. Features views over Jamison Valley, Mount Solitary and the Three Sisters, but much quieter than Echo Point.

Narrow Neck Lookout:

Narrow Neck Lookout is also located in the Katoomba area. It’s right on the Cliff Drive a little bit further west from Scenic World. You can enjoy views of the Narrow Neck Plateau, which separates the Jamison Valley and the Megalong Valley, pretty much right from the car park. You could also walk here from Echo Point in about 2 hours along the cliff edge.

Cahills Lookout / Boars Head Lookout:

Even further along the Cliff Drive, Cahills Lookout and Boars Head Lookout offer great panoramic views of the Megalong Valley. They’re both very close together on the same little side road just off the Cliff Drive.

Prince Henry Cliff Walk (East):

Heading east along the Prince Henry Cliff Walk from the Three Sisters, you will also come across many different lookouts. You should reach Honeymoon Point after about 15 minutes and the more spectacular trio of Kiah Lookout, Copeland Lookout and Bridal Veil Lookout after another 15 minutes. The Leura Cascades and Bridal Veil Falls are also located in this area.

Keep going further eastwards and after another 15 to 20 minutes, enjoy the views from Olympian Rock Lookout as well as Gordon Falls and the adjacent lookout.

Sublime Point Lookout:

Sublime Point is a bit further away, on a pointy cliff edge just south of Leura. You can either drive up to it and walk for about 200 metres, or you can keep walking past Gordon Falls for another half hour. Unfortunately, when we visited this lookout, it was completely foggy and there was absolutely nothing to see.

Lincoln’s Rock:

Lincoln’s Rock is located even further east of Leura in the area of Wentworth Falls. It’s famous for the impressive white rock plateau and its dramatic cliff edge. A short gravel road will take you right up to it. We haven’t been here yet, but we will check this spot out on our next trip to the Blue Mountains. Photos look like it’s a must do!

Greater Blue Mountains

Now, that was the actual Blue Mountains National Park. There are the Greater Blue Mountains – the entire Mountain Range – including other smaller National Parks. There are a lot more great places to be discovered out there, and we haven’t yet had a chance to see the whole area.

We did however stay at a campsite in the Kanangra-Boyd National Park for the first night of our big Australia road trip. It was cloudy and foggy for sunset and sunrise, but just before we wanted to leave, it started to clear up. So here’s a quick taste of the Greater Blue Mountains, particularly the Kanangra Walls:

Have you been to any of these lookouts in the Blue Mountains National Park? Which is your favourite or which ones have stood out to you? We’d love to know, just leave a comment below!

READ NEXT: 10 THINGS TO DO IN SYDNEY FOR UNDER $10

Do you have Pinterest? Save it for later!

Sharing is caring!