“Rising mists everywhere, giving place to glorious sunlight, with peeps of blue sky above…: an atmosphere light, cold, and exhilarating in the extreme; such is the scene that greets us as we fling up our window at The Carrington, one of the most comfortable and convenient hotels in all Australia.” (Sydney Mail & NSW Advertiser February 1891)

At Archer & Hobb, high tea is elevated to a fine dining experience. By Julie Miller. 

Built as a health retreat in 1901, Kurrara Historic Guest house is once again a place to find inner peace and wellbeing.

In the late 1890s, the Blue Mountains became a popular destination for those wishing to escape the industrialised smoke and noise of Sydney.

Lording over the main street of Katoomba, its imposing curved driveway announcing its grand and ornate exterior, is one of the Blue Mountains’ oldest hotels – The Carrington. Opened in 1882 and originally called The Great Western, the hotel heralded a new era of tourism for Katoomba, which had until then been a “nondescript little mining town” originally bearing the comical name of The Crushers.

The timeless elegance of the past meets the best of modern hospitality at Katoomba’s Carrington Hotel.

Continuing a botanical legacy: Blue Mountains Botanic Garden.

Nine years before Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson made their historic trek across the Blue Mountains in 1813, a naturalist named George Caley – curator of the colony’s first botanic gardens at Parramatta – forged a route along the northern rim of the Grose Valley, the first European to penetrate the mountains west of Sydney.

His mission was to collect botanical specimens; and on November 10, 1804, Caley reached a place of great beauty, a summit cloaked in magnificent tree ferns known to the Darug people as Tomah. Several days later, however, Caley’s party aborted their mission at nearby Mount Banks, thwarted by the rugged, seemingly impenetrable terrain.

The Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area is Australia’s most accessible wilderness.

Stretching over one million hectares, the region is an inspiring and diverse mix of rainforest, blue-hazed valleys, golden sandstone escarpments, canyons, tall forests and windswept heathlands. It is one of Australia’s iconic landscapes and has received National Landscape status in recognition of its world-class experiences of environmental and cultural significance.

The Blue Mountains is one of Australia's natural wonders. It is an inspiring mix of rainforest, canyons, tall forests and heathlands, combining eight individual conservation reserves - Yengo, Wollemi, Gardens of Stone, Blue Mountains, Nattai, Kanangra Boyd, Thirlmere Lakes and Jenolan Caves Karst Reserve.