The Walls Cave in the Blackheath area of the Blue Mountains is an impressive cave structure that can be reached via a short bushwalking trail.
The cave is located on Darug Aboriginal Country and is of special significance to the Darug people as an occupation site for women.
The walking trail passes through beautiful bushland scenery that takes in several creek crossings, a fascinating slot canyon, and lots of steps.
| Walls Cave Track | |
|---|---|
| Distance: | 2 km (return) |
| Duration: | 1 hour |
| Grade: | Easy / moderate (steep sections) |
| Dogs: | Not allowed |
Getting There
The Walls Cave Track is located in a quiet and isolated area of Blackheath, away from the large tourist crowds.
The trailhead is located at the end of Walls Cave Road in Blackheath. To get there, turn into Evans Lookout Road from the Great Western Highway, followed by a right turn into Walls Cave Road (see map location).
Ample parking is available at the gate at the end of that road. An information board on the other side of the gate explains more about this unique area of the Blue Mountains.
The map below shows the walk starting from the car park on Walls Cave Rd.
Track Notes
The Walls Cave Track is generally well-maintained and well-signposted, but it is pretty steep and has many steps.
Going down into the gully is easy, but going back up is a bit more challenging. But overall, the walk is relatively easy and can be completed within one hour, depending on how long you stay at the cave and the slot canyon.
1. The Start
Once you’ve parked your car, walk past the gate and follow the signs for Walls Cave Walk.
The first 500 metres of the trail are almost non-stop downhill via steps through beautiful bushland scenery.
After approximately 500 metres of hiking, the path arrives at a junction where you’ll need to turn right to continue the trail to the cave.
The scenery slowly evolves from a dense forest into a more open landscape, which is quite a pleasant change.
Along the path past that junction, you’ll be able to see the cave in the distance, which is a pretty cool sight!
2. Slot Canyon
As the trail keeps descending towards Greaves Creek, the scenery changes again, this time into a pleasant rainforest-type landscape.
This is perhaps the best part of the walking track, with a footbridge, stepping stones, and a beautiful slot canyon.
The small metal footbridge that crosses Greaves Creek offers fantastic views of this slot canyon, with the water passing through it.
This bridge is then followed by a series of stepping stones with pretty views of the creek flowing past, which is a fantastic experience.
Watch your step there though, because the stones can be a bit slippery!
3. Walls Cave
Once you’ve crossed Greaves Creek, it’s only a short distance to the viewing platform in front of Walls Cave.
As you’ll see when you get there, the enormous size of the cave makes it such an impressive sight.
The cave was named after Ignatius Wall (1855-1928), a local resident who owned land in this area.
Note that the information board at the start of the track asks visitors not to venture into the cave past the viewing platform as it’s a sacred Indigenous site.
Once you’ve finished exploring this beautiful spot, retrace your steps via the same trail back to the car park!
Keen to discover another cave? Cox’s Cave in Mount Victoria is a wonderful sight in beautiful natural surroundings.
For another great hike nearby, try the Asgard Swamp Track in the Mount Victoria area. This adventurous 9 km return walk includes several lookouts with beautiful Grose Valley views.
