Feeling trapped in the city life, escape to Katoomba Blue Mountains

If you're feeling trapped in the city and need an escape, this is easily accomplished. Just take the train from Sydney to Katoomba and you'll be in the heart of one of Australia's most magnificent National Parks in no time at all. Sydney locals know Katoomba well and when the heat and smog of the city get to them, Katoomba is the place they go, if only for a day.

The air is always cooler and fresher in Katoomba. You will feel a sense of cooling refreshment waft over you as soon as you get there, thanks to the higher elevation (a kilometer or 2500 ft above sea level) and the breezes that blow through the fragrant gum trees. A 2 minute walk from the platform and you are in downtown Katoomba and can take your pick of wonderful places to enjoy a cappuccino or a full meal at a sidewalk café. By the time you're finished, you will be ready to discover why the landscape around Katoomba is among the most photographed in all of Australia.

You can walk to Echo Point from the town center, but you may want to save your energy and take a bus or a taxi. When you reach it, you will be face to face with one of Australia's most famous landmarks - the Three Sisters. No matter how many photographs you have seen of these beautiful sisters, it will feel like you've really seen them for the first time. If you dare, now take a peek over the edge of the cliff face to the valley floor some 550 ft (over 150 meters) below.

If you like hiking (or bushwalking, as we say in Australia), you're going to love Katoomba. For well over a hundred and fifty years, Katoomba has had a reputation as the hiking capital of Australia. From Echo Point, you can take the Giant Staircase to the base of the cliffs. The Federal Pass trail is one of the most popular trails in Australia if not the world, yet never feels overcrowded and is always immaculately maintained. It is as awe inspiring to look up at the towering cliffs from below as it is to look down from above and from the base of the cliffs, the only sounds you hear are those of nature.

If a walk or hike on a well-maintained and sign posted trail isn't enough adventure for you, then go back up to the Katoomba city center and call into one of the many shops that specialize in outdoor activities. You can arrange for a rock climbing lesson or a day of abseiling on the cliff sides. If you want to know what life is like deep inside a Blue Mountains canyon, you can take part in a canyoning expedition. In a nutshell: if you want adventure, Katoomba can deliver.

Do yourself a favor and stay in a Katoomba accommodation instead of returning straight to the city. As much as you've seen and done already, you've barely scratched the surface of the Blue Mountains. You haven't visited the lovely nearby towns of Blackheath and Mount Victoria, for instance and you haven't yet experienced the Scenic Railway. By the time you hop on the train and return to Sydney, you'll be amazed that such a vast wonderland could exist right at Sydney's doorstep.

Take a few days off, find Katoomba accommodation, things to do and other travel related information about the area on bookitnow.com.au. Or visit our Australia blog for more Australian holiday ideas.