Blue Mountains Cultural Tours

While Australia has no shortage of amazing things to see and do during your visit, you don’t want to sacrifice a chance to view the spectacular Blue Mountains. Tours are available through these mountains on a daily basis and are offered by a number of organizations.

What are the Blue Mountains?

The Blue Mountains are found in the New South Wales area of Australia. That means its very close to Sydney – the distance from the centre of the city to the mountains is only 31 miles (50 km). Around the mountains are a couple of rivers: the Nepean and the Coxs. The mountains consist of amazingly flat plateaus but also deep gorges of as much as 760 meters deep and high vistas that soar up to 1,190 meters above sea level. These mountains were named a World Heritage Area back in 2000.

History of the Mountains

When it comes to the Blue Mountains, the area has a long history. Long before the place was officially considered settled, it was home to early humans who used the numerous caves in the formations as shelter. Today, evidence of these people can still be found in some of the caves. When Europeans first came to Australia, they were under the impression that no path across the Blue Mountains was available. However, the aboriginal people who had been there long before knew of at least two routes that could help them traverse the treacherous range. The first non-aboriginal man to cross the mountains was John Wilson, who had been known previously as a convict. He made his journey in 1792 and ended up staying with the aborigines for about 5 years before going back to Sydney to tell others of his accomplishment.

Climate & Geography

The Blue Mountains are unique because of the wise range of climates and geography found there. For example, some of the gorges which are sheltered by the taller mountains can have a temperate rainforest climate. In other parts, the area resembles swamps. You can also find Wollemi Pine in some parts of the mountains – this is a very old form of vegetation. As you go further up into the mountains, the temperature is going to get colder and colder. During the day, the temperature is around the upper 60s and lower 70s Fahrenheit. However at night, the temperature can drop much lower. During the winter, the temperatures can drop below freezing. A couple of snowfalls occur in the mountains every winter and annually about 48 inches of rain fall.

Places of Interest

Within the Blue Mountains, there are some unique sites worth seeing. One is the Katoomba Scenic Railway which is the steepest in the world. If that makes you nervous, you can also view the mountains via the Scenic Skyway (glass bottomed aerial cable cars) or Scenic Flyway. The Giant Staircase in the mountains makes it easier for visitors to reach the nature walks available in the valley. Another place to get an amazing look at the mountains is the Edge Cinema.

Rabins Sharma Lamichhane

Rabins Sharma Lamichhane is senior ICT professional who talks about #it, #cloud, #servers, #software, and #innovation. Rabins is also the first initiator of Digital Nepal. Facebook: rabinsxp Instagram: rabinsxp

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