As its name aptly suggests, the main deal about the Scenic world is the scenery, not their three rides: 1) The Scenic Railway, the steepest in the world, 2) Scenic skyway and the 3) Scenic Walkway with the Cable car. The Scenic World is a day trip from Sydney. There are parking options should you carry a car, but for our case, we rode a tour bus to get here.
Upon arriving in Scenic World Top Station, where there is a gift/ souvenir shop and a restaurants, our bus driver gave us a strategy to best avoid long lines / crowds as tourists flock here later in the afternoon. From the Top Station: (please refer to the map below so that you would know what I am talking about):
- Ride the Scenic Railway (see red line)
- Upon arriving at the bottom, walk the Scenic Walkway (green line) until you reach the cable car
- Take the Cable car up back to the Top station (see blue line)
- Take the Scenic skyway, round trip tour back to the Top Station  (see yellow line)
We decided to try out the strategy, as why not, I am all about efficiency here. We rode The Scenic Railway first. We were surprised at how steep it is, we weren’t ready ! (If you have your phone with you, hold on tightly…) The Scenic Railway holds the Guinness world record for the steepest railway gradient in the world (52 degrees). In the 1940s, it used to carry coal from the Jamison valley below going up the top station. When the mine was closed, it became a tourist attraction.
After arriving down (riding the scenic railway), we walked around and hiked thru The Scenic Walkway, so we could reach the Cable car station. There are 2 walkways. There is 1) 30 minute walk with lots of dinosaurs, great for killing time and young children might find this exciting 2) a 10 minute walk. The path is filled with directions! Because my travel buddies belong to the arthritis club, we chose the 10 minute walk. It was a relaxed walk under the tall trees of the ancient rainforest. There are also some statues you can enjoy during the walk, or display about the history of the railway. At the end of the walk was the Cable car.
The Cable car ride was not as exciting, but was scenic. Around 80 people can ride it at the same times. and if there was a good area to ride it it would be the upper right right hand side facing up. Through this window, you’d be able to get a glimpse of the Katoomba waterfalls. Riding the cable car would get us up back the Top Station.
There is an entrance to hike to the Echo point walk however it was closed at this time. (I don’t know if it was permanent or only at this weather) We took the skyway ride back to the lobby/ shops and we ate at the restaurant.Â
When We were so hungry we decided to eat lunch before trying out the Scenic Skyway. We went inside EATS270 (named because it is 270 meters from Jamison Valley) . For lunch, I had fish and chips. The restaurant wasn’t crowded so we scored a seat with a great view of The Three Sisters. The restaurant accepts only card payments (no cash). The logistics of processing cash here might be difficult, plus I think that processing card payments only would make auditing easier for the business. After lunch, we went to an outdoor restaurant called Cafe Terrace, where we ate dessert (Ice Cream in the cold weather). The view here is amazing.
After reaching the main lobby we headed towards the Scenic skyway ride. The skyway travels across Katoomba Falls. For me it was a very boring simple ride but take it nonetheless. There were around more than 10 kids playing in the middle of the Skyway cabin and the commentator had a bad mic so it wasn’t a serene ride. The sky was raining and the winds were so cold we only took a little while walking around. So grateful it only rained now when we are out of the Valley (the walkway).
There is an entrance to hike to the Echo point walk however it was closed at this time. (I don’t know if it was permanent or only at this weather) We took the skyway ride back to the Top Station where we looked for souvenirs before going home. 🙂
In summary:
I recommend Mr. Driver’s strategy for visiting Scenic World. I think I enjoyed the railway and the walkway most. They accept credit cards only in the restaurants so make sure you have one. Prepare for rain. Or just get wet and buy new clothes at the souvenir shops. There, hope I was able to give you an idea of the scenic world
Xoxo, Gayle
When she gets lost 