 The Blue Mountains refers to a range of sandstone geological structures and the region in which they sit, both of which are located about 60 miles to the west of Sydney. As a tourist destination, the region offers the promise of relaxation, outdoor activity, great food, excellent accommodation options and magnificent natural beauty.
Easily reached from Sydney, the Blue Mountains is a destination in its own right. Suitable for a weekend trip or a longer vacation, visitors often struggle to see and do everything that the region offers in the way of entertainment and activity.
Attractions are plentiful, with something for all members of the family whether young or old. Nature is perhaps the greatest provider of things to do and see here, with the differing geographical characteristics of each part of the region lending themselves to a different selection of activities.
 The Blue Mountains National Park and its sprawling magnificence offer awe-inspiring visits. Taking its name after the blue haze that appears in the mountains, a result of the oil haze from the millions of eucalyptus trees found here, the scenery in the park is breathtaking. Similarly magnificent are the Jenolan Caves outside of Katoomba.
 The region is well-known for its great restaurants and standards of excellence in cuisine, with a climate which fosters the growth of fresh and healthy ingredients often cited as one of the main reasons for this. Whatever your taste in food, you are unlikely to be disappointed by the fine dining that is on offer at the region’s quality restaurants or the hip fusion food at the area’s chic little cafés.
The Blue Mountains are well used to receiving visitors and the region has an infrastructure geared to providing them with all the necessary comforts and conveniences. Accommodation options are plentiful with some big name hotels operating as well as a wealth of charming independently-owned establishments.
With Sydney being so close, international visitors are able to take advantage of the city’s major airport and the connections it maintains with a vast number of cities around the world. Ground transfer options from Sydney to the Blue Mountains are excellent with most visitors arriving here within two hours of leaving the airport.
History
Aboriginal tribes lived in the area we now know as the Blue Mountains for thousands of years. Even when white explorers arrived in Sydney, the geographical characteristics of the mountains were deemed to preclude travel through or the building of settlements here.
Though yet to be conquered, the mountains were added to the white man’s map of the area with British naval officer and colonial administrator Arthur Phillip naming the northern and southern regions the Carmarthen and Lansdowne hills respectively. Though these names were made official in 1788, it wasn’t long before the name Blue Mountains, a collective term for both regions, was popularised among locals.
 It was 1813 before white explorers successfully negotiated the mountains with a party comprising Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson, hailed as being the first to reach the plateau. Prior to this, convicts and other explorers had attempted to make their way across the range and while it’s possible that some were successful, none were accredited with such a feat.
It is popularly held that the inability to build settlements beyond Sydney’s flatlands was an impediment to the expansion of colonialism in the area and that the conquering of the Blue Mountains paved the way for significant development. Many historians, in fact, cite this as a popular myth, suggesting that availability of land in the coastal areas was sufficient to ensure the continuation of colonial growth.
 After the idea that the mountains were unconquerable had been dismissed, white settlers were quick to move in and began creating infrastructure in the area. At the request of Governor Lachlan Macquarie, William Cox led a team of 30 convict labourers and eight guards in building a road across the range.
The road took just over six months to complete and was finished by early 1815. The region prospered off the back of its coal and oil shale mining industries (until some time after WWII) and in later times off tourism, the latter benefiting greatly from the development of the railway.
Weather
Although close to Sydney, the Blue Mountains experience a cooler climate than the lower city areas with temperatures dropping as altitudes increase (2°C lower for every 300 metres up).
This means that in the highest regions, the average temperature is around 18°C in the summer months of December through February. In the winter season, June through August, temperatures average about 5°C. Lower down and consequently closer to Sydney, the weather is warmer with summer temperatures averaging at 29°C and winter temperatures at 16°C.
 Rain tends to fall at the same time of year as Sydney with the higher regions receiving about 1050mm of rainfall per year and the lower regions about 850mm per year.
 From a visitor’s perspective, the summer months can be warm making it wiser to visit later in the year in November, or towards the end of the season in late February or early March.
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