Sometimes the greatest rewards require some effort, and this is one of those times. The walk down to Silver Cascades and the base of Victoria Falls is a steep one, but you’ll find that the two beautiful spots, which are great for swimming, are very much worth the effort.
Although the track is steep, it’s in excellent condition, so it’s not one of those hairy tracks where you feel like you might slip. Anyone willing to plod back up the cliffside afterwards can do this walk.
Here’s everything you need to know about visiting Victoria Falls, one of our favourite trails in the Blue Mountains.
The Victoria Falls Walking Track
The stats
Distance: 5.2km return
Elevation: 400m
Difficulty: Hard
Summary: The walk to Victoria Falls is almost all downhill on the way and a significant amount of the track is quite steep. However, it’s not relentless, there are plenty of gentle slopes which help break up the climb on the way back up. The path is generally very well maintained, though there are a couple of rougher rocky patches, but only very minor.
The cascades are 500m away from the falls and require scrambling over a log jam to reach.
Starting the trail: to Victoria Falls Lookout
From the car park you head straight into the bush and within 115m you’ll be standing at Victoria Falls Lookout. Despite the name you can’t see the falls from here, but you do get a wonderful view over the Grose Valley.
After admiring the mountains, it’s time to begin descending through the bush towards the falls.
Descending to Silver Cascades
The descent begins on relatively shallow wooden steps, but they get steeper as you progress. There are a few minor rocky sections, but nothing which requires any scrambling. Just over 700m into the track you reach some pretty rock walls and get a break from all those stairs on a flat dirt track.
Just beyond the walls there are a couple of uneven rocky steps, which are a touch narrow, but it’s just three steps and then the path is manicured again.
The dirt track is narrow at times, but there is no exposure or any slippery terrain, so it was so much easier than I was expecting.
Around 800m into the walk, the track begins sloping downhill on gentle switchbacks. There are still some steps, but the majority is a smooth dirt track and the gentle gradient is definitely appreciated on the way back up!
As you descend the environment gets more lush, with lots of gorgeous tree ferns.
The bush is relatively dense, but you do get the odd open view to the stunning mountains beyond.
There are a couple of trees down over the track, but they aren’t difficult to step over.
After quite a few switchbacks you’ll start to hear the rushing water signalling you have nearly made it to the cascades.
At the 2km mark you’ll reach a signpost and can turn right for the cascades, or left for the falls. The path on the left is signposted as Burra Korain Flat, but it’s also the route to Victoria Falls.
Arriving at Silver Cascades aka Victoria Creek Cascades
The Silver Cascades are just 100m beyond the signpost. There’s currently a bit of debris to climb over to reach them, which may or may not be moved in time. It’s easy to get over though.
The logs are stable and took our weight easily, though lots of rain can change that, so check first before putting your full weight on them.
The cascades are gorgeous and we were lucky enough to visit after rain, so they were running beautifully. They would be very much worth the steep walk down even if they were not so close to Victoria Falls.
The pool at the base of the cascades is a great place for a dip, one of our favourites in the Blue Mountains in fact. The water is cold but not icy (this was in summer though) and it’s pretty easy to access.
The first couple of rocks getting into the pool are a little slippery, but not too bad and then it gets nice and deep so you can swim immediately.
It does get shallower again, with a sandy bottom, closer to the cascades, but there’s enough room for a decent little swim.
It’s so refreshing and because it’s a fairly steep walk in, you don’t get the crowds that would definitely visit if the pool was more accessible. We’ve had it to ourselves every time which is a dream!
Heading to Victoria Falls
When you’re ready to move on to the falls, walk back to the junction and take the path heading straight on (it would have been left from the main track). You’ll then pick up a sign for the top of the falls, which is worth the short diversion to see. It’s just 150m between the top of the falls and the cascades.
You can walk right to the edge of the falls and see the upper part of the waterfall, which is an impressive sight after rain. It’s an unfenced cliff edge, but it’s good grippy rock, so you can safely take a look.
Back on the trail and 50m later you’ll come to a view of the top and bottom of the falls, which is slightly obscured by foliage, but still a good look at the whole waterfall.
You can then descend the final 350m to the base of Victoria Falls.
The signpost warns that’s it’s a steep track (or something to that effect) but really it’s not a bad path at all. I didn’t think it felt much different to the rest of the track, perhaps slightly less well maintained, but certainly nothing to stop you getting down when you’ve come this far!
There’s a short narrow flat section and then, you guessed it, more stairs!
Once you’re at the bottom the path bears right and you’ll see the falls.
At the base of Victoria Falls there are lots of lovely smooth, flat rocks to sit on and enjoy one of the prettiest waterfalls in the Blue Mountains.
It would make a really nice picnic spot, as well as being another great swimming spot. Or more of a plunge pool really in terms of the depth.
The pool is large, but has a lot of shallow sections. On our most recent visit there was enough water to swim, which wasn’t the case of earlier trips.
It’s got a nice sandy bottom once you get over a few small rocks at the edge of the pool, so it’s probably better for kids than the cascades which have a few rocks here and there.
It’s a very pretty waterfall and so peaceful. It’s the kind of place you can easily while away a few hours with a book before facing that big climb back up to the top!
The climb back up
I must admit that I found the first half of the climb pretty easy. The little bit up from the falls to the junction with the cascades is fairly steep, but then those gradual switchbacks are nice and shallow. I was feeling quite pleased with myself that I was possibly a bit fitter than I’d thought.
Then I hit the second half of the walk, which has more steps and is steeper and I immediately began huffing and puffing my way up. It was quite a hot and humid day, and by the time I reached the lookout, I was relieved to have finished. Not least because if I wanted to stop for a breather, I came under attack from blood sucking flies.
Actual flies that look like normal innocent house flies, but are in fact blood thirsty vampires and as persistent as the worst mosquitoes.
Overall, it’s a great walk, in very pretty surrounds and I loved swimming at both spots. If you’re lucky enough to visit after some good rainfall it will be at its most impressive.
Getting to Victoria Falls
The car park for Victoria Falls is roughly 125km and a two hour drive from Sydney. It’s just over 20km and 25 minutes from Katoomba.
The last 5km of the road is unsealed, but it’s in good condition and suitable for all vehicles (at time of writing).
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