Jenolan Caves

The Jenolan Caves sit in a steep limestone valley on the western side of the Blue Mountains, inside the Jenolan Karst Conservation Reserve. Their age is what sets them apart: potassium–argon measurements on clay trapped in the passages gave about 340 million years, which makes Jenolan the oldest known and dated open cave system on Earth. The Jenolan River runs underground through part of the complex, and the mapped network now exceeds 40 kilometres of passages on several levels, with more than 300 entrances. The bedrock is packed with Silurian marine fossils, and some of the calcite decoration is almost pure white.

Long before any European arrived, the area mattered to the Gundungurra and Wiradjuri peoples. A Gundungurra creation story tells of a struggle between Gurangatch, a giant eel-like being, and Mirrigan, a native cat, which shaped the land here, and sick people were carried into the caves to bathe in the underground water. The European story begins around 1838, when James Whalan tracked a livestock thief into the valley. The government took the caves under control in 1866, one of the earliest areas anywhere set aside for conservation. Jeremiah Wilson was made the first Keeper of the Caves a year later, and the name Jenolan was adopted in 1884. In 1880 Chifley Cave, then called Left Imperial, became one of the first caves in the world to be lit by electricity.

Eleven show caves are open, and each is different. Lucas Cave has the Cathedral, a chamber more than 50 metres high that is used for weddings and recitals. River Cave is the most strenuous tour and passes the Minaret, the Grand Column and a stretch of the underground River Styx. Temple of Baal is only two chambers, but one holds the Angel's Wing, a 9-metre shawl, and the walls are covered in helictites. Ribbon Cave is known for fine ribbon helictites. In Nettle Cave, a self-guided visit, the "crayfish backs" are stromatolites shaped by cyanobacteria, light and wind. The road itself passes through the Grand Arch, a natural tunnel where most tours begin, and Caves House, built in 1898, stands beside it. Since 2000 the reserve has been part of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area.

Getting there

Jenolan is about 30 km west of Katoomba in the Blue Mountains as the crow flies, but 74 km by the winding road, and about 175 km west of Sydney. Allow roughly three hours' drive from Sydney or Canberra. There is no public transport to the caves; private coach tours run from Sydney and from Katoomba railway station. The nearest airport is the regional Bathurst Airport (BHS), about 57 km away. Most visitors fly into Sydney Airport (SYD) and drive. Walkers can also arrive on the Six Foot Track, a bushwalk of about 45 km from Katoomba that follows the 1880s bridle route.