Castle Head walk in The Blue Mountains
Another spectacular walk in The Blue Mountains is the Castle Head Walk. The walk provides the actual bush walking experience and has mind boggling views of the mountains. Known for its steep cliffs, this is definitely one of my favourite walks.
Are you visiting Blue Mountains for the first time? Then read my post Blue Mountains as a tourist.
About Castle Head Walk
The Castle Head walk provides spectacular views of the Jamison Valley. The Castle Head is on the Narrow Neck Peninsula and has an old trig station. With great views and the cliffs, the Castle Head walk makes a well known walk in the Blue Mountains.
One of the other cool things to do in Narrow Neck Peninsula is abseiling. The adventurous activity of abseiling is totally worth it. Read my post, Abseiling in the Blue Mountains for more details.
How to get to Scenic World?
Public transport
- There are frequent trains between Sydney Central train station and Katoomba train station.
- One needs to take a bus from Katoomba. There are frequent buses between Katoomba and Scenic World.
- More information can be found on the Transport NSW website.
Driving
The distance between Scenic World and Sydney Central Business District (CBD) is around 105 kilometres and takes about 1 hour 30 minutes of drive.
- The route has toll roads.
- There are plenty of parking spaces available at Scenic World.
Another alternative is to drive till the Narrow Neck road and park the car at the beginning of the trail. The distance between Narrow Neck road and Sydney CBD is the same distance which is 105 kilometres and takes around 1 hour 30 minutes as well. The trail to reach Castle Head from the parking space on Narrow Neck road is just 5.7 kilometres.
Logistics of the walk
- Starting and finishing point: Scenic World bus stop.
- Total distance: 15 kilometers return. This can be reduced to 11.4 kilometres return if one can drive till the Narrow Neck road and start the hike from the car park.
- Grade: Easy to Moderate (Moderate only because of the distance).
- Type of walk: Return.
- Path (one way): Scenic World bus stop – Violet Street – Short Street Cliff Drive – Narrow Neck lookout – Locked Gate (5 kilometers from bus stop) – Castle Head path (there is a board).
Please note: This post may contain affiliate links which means I may earn a commission if you make a purchase by clicking a link on this post. This will be at no additional cost to you. Affiliate links help me keep this website up and running. Thank you for your support.
Safety for solo female travelers
As a general rule, it is always best to hike with a buddy. That helps in being prepared for any uncalled situations, especially in the mountains. Having said that the towns and places in the Blue Mountains is relatively very safe. But be very careful at the edges and do not stand close to the edge of the cliffs. They can be very dangerous when it is windy.
If you are traveling alone, then Meetup is the best place to find hiking buddies.
Closing Notes
The Castle Head walk is definitely one of the hikes to add while considering hiking in The Blue Mountains. It is a very pretty hike with amazing views of the valley and the mountains.
If you liked this hike, then I am sure you would love the other hikes in the Blue Mountains. Refer the section of my blog, Hikes in the Blue Mountains for more hikes like this.