If you fancy a change from the coastal destinations for your next Australian holiday or break then why not consider the Blue Mountains, NSW. Located an easy hour and a half from Sydney CBD or airport the area has stunning scenery, viewpoints and waterfalls as well as quality accommodation and food to match. Popular with both couples and families the area has much to offer visitors.
Getting there: Getting to the Blue Mountains is easy. From Sydney head west following the signs for Parramatta. Then join the M4 (toll section near Sydney) and keep going on the M4 as far as the edge of the Blue Mountains in Lapstone. You can then follow the signs up to the main tourist areas such as Katoomba. An alternative is to catch the train from Central Railway station in Sydney CBD. There is around one train an hour and it takes roughly 90-120 minutes depending on which station you are going to. There are day trips from Sydney as well by coach which return to the city the same day but staying in one of the great Blue Mountains accommodation options for a few nights will allow you to truly appreciate the area.
What to do: If you come to the Blue Mountains there is plenty to do. Checking out the scenery is bound to be top of your list of things to do, so here are a few ideas.
Viewpoints: There are many breath taking viewpoints within the Blue Mountains. Among the most popular viewpoints are Echo Point in Katoomba which has been recently upgraded and provides stunning views over the Three Sisters fomation and into the Jamison Valley. Wentworth Falls also offer great views of both the falls and the valley.
Bushwalking: There are bushwalking trails throughout the Blue Mountains region and national park. Once you reach the Blue Mountains then head to one of the tourist information centres such as the one in Katoomba and request a bushwalking map marking the main trails. You can choose from short walks on manmade paths to long and adventurous hikes.
Scenic World: Located in the central Katoomba area, Scenic World is the most popular attraction in the region and offers a number of ways to enjoy the great views. Scenic World has a number of attractions including a cable car, a glass floored skyway which takes you across the valley and the world's steepest railway. Down at the bottom of the valley there is a rainforest boardwalk. It's a great family attraction and a fun way to take in some of the views of the local area.
Eating Out: If you want to surprise your loved one with a special meal, here are some of the top places to try.
Solitary, 90 Cliff Drive, Leura Falls, NSW.
The restaurant offers one of the best views in the Blue Mountains and offers food of a quality to match the view. Solitary was created back in 2000 by husband and wife team Georgia Shepherd and John Cross the restaurant serves fantastic Modern Australian and European influenced food in a fine dining atmosphere. The restaurant has won many accolades including Two Chefs hats in the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2007 and ranked as one of the top 5 places to eat out in Australia by the Lonely Planet guide in 2004.
Darley's Restaurant at Lilianfels, Echo Point, Lilianfels Avenue, Katoomba.
Darley's restaurant is located within the luxurious Lilianfels Hotel has a well earnt reputation for excellent food and service. They have been awarded Two Chefs hats in the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2009, one of only a small number to achieve such a high accolade. The restaurant specialises in excellent country cooking that fits the location and makes use of high quality local produce and an excellent wine list. This is obviously somewhere for a special occasion and is not cheap. Expect to pay close to $80 per person for two courses or around $100 for three courses with wine being extra. If you can't make your mind up from the menu you can sample a number of interesting course with the degustation menu served with matching wines. Whey to stay: Blue Mountains accommodation comes in the form of cosy cottages and homely bed and breakfasts perfect for a romantic getaway. From budget to total luxury there is something for everyone. Some of the most popular
When to go: Typically you will find the Blue Mountains will be a few degrees cooler than Sydney year round. The accommodation is well geared up for the cooler months and you will find many of the cottages will have a fireplace to make things nice and cosy. Typically the temperatures are a few degrees cooler than in Sydney making bush walking more pleasant. However, on the hottest summer days some of the more challenging walks may feel like hard work in the heat.
Stretches of lush, forested mountains, in places bursting with the raw energy of waterfalls, or easing out to thick carpeted valleys, or making way for slopes of fragrant tea plantations ? the Nilgiris or the Blue Mountain range runs through the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. Ooty, nestled in the Nilgiris, in the Nilgiri district of Tamil Nadu is a hill station that lets one experience the beauty of the Blue Mountains. Being a popular tourist destination, Ooty tour packages, which include accommodation, sightseeing and car hires, are available both online and through private and government tour operators.
Ooty, also known as Udhagamandalam, is called the ?Queen of Hill Stations? Ooty is well accessible by roads, railways and airways. The nearest airport is at Coimbatore which is about 100 km from Ooty. This airport is connected by flights by various domestic air operators from Chennai, Kozhikode, Bangalore and Mumbai. Moreover, railway and bus services are also available from major cities in India to the city.
Ooty can be a wonderful hideout during the summers. Even the British who founded the city spent much of their time in this city during the summers. The Nilgiri Mountain Railways which is among the UNESCO World Heritage list, as any reliable Ooty Travel Guide will tell you, is also a wonderful experience. The wooden coaches and the large windows of the train is a marvel of engineering and is known as the Nilgiri Toy Train. The train is perhaps the slowest train in India with a speed of about 10.4 km per hour and one can see numerous tea estates, lofty mountains, dense forests and sprawling grasslands while traveling.
The tour packages for Ooty may be of short or for a long duration. The short duration tour package is basically of two to three days and covers the hill town of Ooty exhaustively. The long duration tour package may take six to seven days and includes other places in South India like Bangalore and Mysore along with a comprehensive coverage of the hill station of Ooty. Tourists are advised to look at the packages before coming to the city in order to enjoy a complete holiday in this city. Here we will concentrate on what the tour packages for Ooty generally include so as to provide you with an exclusive Ooty travel guide.
If you choose the long duration tour, then the tour starts basically from Bangalore. On your arrival at the Bangalore International Airport, tour representatives generally escort you to a pre-booked hotel. The first day generally starts with a tour of the Bangalore city from where you will be taken to Myosre where you will be visiting the Tipu Sultan's Fort at Srirangapatnam and other places of interest. After Mysore, you will be taken to Ooty for enjoying the scenic beauty of the city. Here you will explore the Nilgiri Hills and visit wonderful temples and other places of interest including the ride in the toy train. From Bangalore, you will be transferred to the Bangalore International Airport for you to board your flight to your way back home. In the short duration , you will be collected from the Coimbatore Airport by a representative. The tour starts basically from the next day where you will be visiting the Lake, Botanical Garden, and the Dodabetta Peak. From there is a drive to Coonoor where you will be visiting Sim's Park, Dolphin Nose, and Lamb's Rock. After a visit to these sites, tourists are transferred to the airport for your journey to your way back home.
Both Rich Greenwood & Rohan Arora are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Rich Greenwood has sinced written about articles on various topics from Travel and Leisure, Fitness and Travel and Leisure. Rich Greenwood and his wife Lynelda founded website www.makemystay.com.au which features quality holiday homes, apartments and cottages. Rich Greenwood's top article generates over 135000 views. to your Favourites.
Rohan Arora has sinced written about articles on various topics from Destinations, Destinations and Travel and Leisure. Rohan Arora is a travel writer based in India. For more information on Ooty Tour packages, you can log on to. Rohan Arora's top article generates over 14800 views. to your Favourites.