Empress Falls is one of the best loved waterfalls in the Blue Mountains. It cascades through a narrow slot canyon and tumbles over the cliff edge into a deep emerald pool below. The towering canyon walls keep it permanently shady and give it a dark and mysterious vibe.
Most people enjoy the falls from the walking track, but there’s nothing like taking a dip in the pool at the base. Staring up at the waterfall from below is jaw dropping and it feels totally different to seeing it from the track, you’re totally immersed in the scene.
The pool is cold, even by Blue Mountains standards, so come embracing your inner Wim Hof and you’re guaranteed to leave feeling like a whole new person.
Here’s everything you need to know about the walk to, and swimming at Empress Falls.
The Empress Falls Walk
The stats
Distance: 900m each way (1.8km total)
Elevation gain: 140m
Difficulty: Easy (but a lot of stairs….)
Summary: The Empress Falls walk is all on a really well maintained track. It’s a mix of good shallow steps through the bush and then some steeper staircases with handrails as you get closer to the falls. The walk is downhill for the majority of the way to the falls, so it’s definitely a lot harder on the way back up.
However, there are several lookouts and even a shady picnic bench if you need to take a break. And on that note, the fact that the walk is shady for almost the entire way does make it that bit easier than if it were to be exposed to the sun.
Starting the trail: to the lookouts
The quickest walk to Empress Falls begins at the Conservation Hut and heads straight into the bush and down a series of shallow wooden steps. It’s beautifully well maintained and nice and shady, making for a really easy start to the track.
After 320m you’ll come to a junction with the Queen Victoria Lookout. It’s just seconds off the path and worth a look for the stunning valley view - if you aren’t used to climbing many stairs you might want to save the lookouts for the way back up when they provide a good excuse for a breather!
Another 130m beyond this viewpoint you’ll reach Empress Falls Lookout. It’s quite a distant view of the falls, but very pretty and you’ll often see tiny little canyoners about to make their descent.
To the bottom of Empress Falls
From the lookout the staircases get steeper, but there are handrails to help if needed. The first set of steeper stairs are metal and later there are some older wooden ones which I love - they don’t make tracks like that anymore!
When you see the terrain that the stairs are helping you to get down, you realise just how inaccessible the falls would be without the brilliantly constructed trails.
After descending several more staircases you’ll reach the junction between Empress Falls and the Nature Track. If you want to continue straight to Empress Falls you continue left (it’s signposted) but if you have a little more time and energy there is a very worthy detour to the right.
Just 700m (each way) from this junction are two little visited spots, Floras Bath and Asmodeus Pool which are very much worth the diversion. It does include a few more staircases though, so if you don’t want any extra climbing then it won’t be for you. Both spots have little swimming holes, with Asmodeus Pool being one of my all time favourites in the mountains.
Asmodeus Pool
Less than a minute to the right of the junction is where you’ll find the gorgeous shady picnic spot - by far the best place to take a break if needed. It’s a little patch of rainforest and right beside a large weeping wall which is very picturesque.
To continue to Empress Falls you take the track heading left, which will take you more steeply down to the bottom of the falls.
You’ll have the steep wooden staircases and then uneven stone steps - uneven but still in good condition and easy enough to walk on.
Just before you reach the bottom you’ll get a couple of great views of the top of Empress Falls. The first has a little log which is a nice place to sit if the picnic bench is taken. The second is from the steps themselves and gives a wonderful view of the falls between the trees.
You’ll then come out of the forest and head along a path beside the falls, which has a metal handrail in place. Continuing the track a touch further down provides a great view of Empress Falls head on, including the small cascades in front of the falls.
From here the track continues to many more waterfalls on one of the best walks in the Blue Mountains, the spectacular Valley of the Waters, which turns into the Wentworth Pass a little further along.
Once you’ve enjoyed the view, if you’re planning on a dip you’re better off walking slightly further up the steps again and crossing under the handrail just beside the pool.
Swimming at Empress Falls
Accessing the pool at Empress Falls is easy. Once you’re under the handrail you simply need to walk down two large rock shelves to the edge of the water.
These rocks are almost always damp, but generally not slippery. The one slippery bit is crossing the little water channel between the rock shelves, it’s not awful, but tread carefully (it’s literally only two steps).
Getting into the water is easy as even the rock inside the pool is grippy and you can just step right in. The pool is quite small, but it’s actually very deep so you can swim off straight away.
The water is very cold, so this probably isn’t an ideal first wild swim, but when you get out you’re guaranteed to feel more alive!
Even when the flow of the falls is pretty good there isn’t much current in the water, so it’s a leisurely place for a swim. And when it comes to the scenery, it really does have the wow factor.
The canyon walls feel impossibly high from below and the atmosphere is second to none. No matter how many times you’ve seen the waterfall, swimming there will definitely give you a completely different feeling.
The best time to visit Empress Falls
Empress Falls is very, very popular. Not just with hikers but also with canyoners. This means that finding a good time to swim here can be difficult. You don’t really want to be taking a dip watching to see if a canyoner is going to suddenly pop out next to you - though you do know when they’re coming down as the rope will come down before the person!
For this reason a swim is best midweek and preferably early or late in the day in the warmer months. We visited midweek in December and there were a few hikers around until about 6.30pm, then we got the chance for a quiet swim before more canyoners came by at 7pm.
It isn’t an easy spot to get to yourself but it is possible. I imagine earlier would be easier than later, as it can still be really warm at 7pm in summer and sunset isn’t until 8pm.
Getting to the Empress Falls Track
The Empress Falls Track begins at the Conservation Hut in Wentworth Falls. It’s roughly 95km and a one hour 20 minute drive from Sydney. You can get there by train too but it adds on an additional 2.5km walking each way. It’s easy enough but it is longer than the main walk itself!
In terms of facilities there are toilets and picnic benches, and the Conservation Hut also has a cafe.
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