Australia Blue Mountains Canyoning

Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia · Australia

Moderate7 daysOceania~£300 est.

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Overview

Two hours from Sydney, the Blue Mountains hide hundreds of slot canyons cut into the sandstone plateau — and canyoning here means committing: once you abseil into the Claustral or Empress Falls constrictions, the only way out is through, swimming glassy black pools between walls a few metres apart, ferns and filtered light far overhead. The Grand Canyon near Blackheath makes a perfect first descent, while Empress Falls ends with an abseil straight down a waterfall. The water is the variable that catches people out. Even in high summer the canyons run cold enough to sap you through a thin wetsuit, and a storm cell over the plateau can flood a slot in minutes — check forecasts obsessively and never enter a constriction with rain about. Go October to March for the warmest water, use a licensed operator for the abseil canyons unless you are rope-competent, and base yourself in Katoomba or Blackheath. Around £300 covers a week of hostel beds and two or three guided canyon days; national park entry is free on foot.