Please
take extreme care near lookouts & cliffs!
Carry drinking water, use sun protection.
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Furber Steps, & connecting
tracks, offer the best views of the Katoomba Falls. They are also the
closest stairs to the Scenic Railway
& old coal mine,
their base being only a few minutes walk from the bottom station &
an effortless yet spectacular ride back to the top.
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- Hiking
- Rock Climbing
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Points of Interest & Access
- Access from near the Katoomba Falls Kiosk, situated on the Cliff
Drive & Prince Henry Cliff Walk.
- Views of Three Sisters, Kings Tableland.
- Rainforest.
- Numerous lookouts.
- Witches Leap, a small waterfall in a rainforest filled gully.
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Harry Phillips shot this photo on the completion of the
project. The natural vegetation has long since grown back, but here
we can clearly see the route of the stairs down the cliff face.
Furber Steps were constructed in 1908, to replace the precarious
bush pole steps of the original Federal Pass. Thomas Furber, a Lands
Department surveyor with an interest in conservation, was mainly
responsible for obtaining a government grant of £140 for the work.
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Historic postcard of Katoomba Falls. Apparently shot
from near Furber Steps, it is thought to date from the 1914-1923
period.
There are two main drops, the upper & lower, along with
cascades. The stairs shown
above descend the lower portion. The descent from the top to the
mid-point is via a moist rainforest gully, hidden from the sun by the tree canopy
& cliffs.
Below the falls, the Federal Pass
walking track crosses the creek at Cooks Crossing. |
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Help
Keep Australia Beautiful!
Carry a bag for rubbish, avoid damaging anything! |
More Info
Bushwalking in the Katoomba & Leura Area, NSW National
Parks & Wildlife Service. Aprox. $4.00 from information
centres & local shops.
In 2001, this area was officially named "Harrys
Amphitheatre", after Katoomba businessman, tourism promoter & well
known identity, the
late Harry Hammon.
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