What are the Three Sisters in the Blue Mountains?
The Three Sisters are a famous sandstone rock formation at Echo Point in Katoomba, in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales. They rise above the Jamison Valley.
The three peaks are named Meehni, Wimlah and Gunnedoo, standing 922, 918 and 906 metres above sea level. They formed as wind, rain and rivers slowly eroded the soft sandstone of the plateau.
A well-known legend tells of three sisters turned to stone. The story has been retold for tourists since the twentieth century, but the formation also holds deep meaning for the Gundungurra and Darug peoples.
Visiting Echo Point
The Echo Point lookout is one of the most visited spots in the Blue Mountains, especially at sunrise and sunset, when the cliffs glow orange. At night the Three Sisters are floodlit.
A walking track leads to Honeymoon Bridge on the first sister, and the steep Giant Stairway descends hundreds of steps into the valley. Nearby Scenic World offers a cable car, skyway and one of the steepest passenger railways in the world.
Did You Know?
Scenic World's railway has an incline of 52 degrees and was originally built for a coal mine.