This was another new walk for me in the Upper Blue Mountains that exceeded expectations. It starts on the edge of town, and passes steeply through a narrow and deep canyon (actually a gap in the cliffs) called the Devils Hole. As you drop down you can take a short side trip to the left for views of the cliffs lining Narrow Neck Plateau. At the bottom of Devils Hole you turn left to view a scenic waterfall, and can then continue on along the bottom of cliffs used by rock climbers.
Track notes at the end. There’s a much longer loop that you can do, and I’ve included an online map reference in the track notes section.
Devils Hole Track: The Scenery
The photo below shows where you leave the Devils Hole for the above views…
A couple of crimson rosellas were hanging out at the end of the walk when we were stretching…
Track Notes
The track eventually peters out at a spot where I managed to get a clear photo of the Devils Hole and surrounding cliffs. Going this far is a moderate walk, and turning back at the waterfall makes it pretty easy, so long as you don’t mind steep and possibly slippery terrain. We used track notes in the guide book Blue Mountains Best Bushwalks.
It’s possible to continue further into Megalong Valley from the bottom of the cliffs to meet up with fire trails, returning through Six Foot Track Reserve to the tops near Bonnie Doon Reserve, and back to the start along streets (see this topo map) but we were happy enough to just see the ‘hole’.
You start opposite 261 Cliff Drive Katoomba…
Nearby Walks
There are heaps of really good walks in the Blue Mountains, and I’ve done a lot of them. You can read about my favourite Blue Mountains walks in a blog post I wrote, or browse through a list of all the walks I’ve done below.
This walk takes in some of the best bits of the Blue Mountains near Katoomba, and is highly recommended. You’ll enjoy views of cliffs, waterfalls and lush forest along much of the route, and definitely visit Bridal Veil Falls and Leura Cascades on your way down to or up from the Federal Pass. (more…)
There are a number of excellent walks which start on the unsealed (and rough) Mt Hay Road, near the Blue Mountains town of Leura. Over 12 years of regular bushwalking in the area I had often noticed cars parked at the side of the road about half way to the end, and wondered whether there was a track there. Well, Sophia and I finally checked it out and discovered the really excellent Fortress Ridge Track. Better late than never. The track undulates through heath and occasional tree cover to a view point over the Grose Valley and Lockleys Pylon, which is quite spectacular from this angle. (more…)
The Grand Canyon Circuit offers a fairly unique Blue Mountains experience, passing through the shadowy recesses of a narrow canyon carved out by Greaves Creek, near the town of Blackheath in the upper mountains. There’s lush rainforest vegetation, tall and dark cliffs, as well as more open sections with dryer vegetation. There’s also excellent views from Evans Lookout of the Grose Valley, looking like a smaller, forested version of that other (slightly more famous) Grand Canyon. Evans Lookout is outside of the canyon, but a part of the circuit walk. (more…)
The Katoomba Landslide section of the Federal Pass in the Blue Mountains appears not to get that much traffic, and I hadn’t done it before this trip in June 2019. Turns out though it is one of the most spectacular sections of this longish track beneath sandstone cliffs, as a landslide in the early 1930’s has opened up views over a nice corner of the cliff lined Jamison Valley. (more…)
