On paper this walk might not sound that interesting - following an old bush track up to the Tessellated Pavements and back - but it’s actually rather wonderful. It’s one of those trails I had on my list for a long time, but kept overlooking it for old favourites, or tracks I thought might have more wow factor. I’m so glad we finally got round to it because it turned out to be very special.
I do think the time of day we chose to walk gave it an extra touch of magic, so if you can time your visit to coincide with sunset, you will be well rewarded with beautiful golden light over the mountains.
Here’s what to expect from the Tessellated Pavements walk at Mount Irvine.
The Mount Irvine Tessellated Pavements Walk
The stats
Distance: 6km return
Elevation gain: 40m
Difficulty: Easy - moderate
Trailhead: Mount Irvine Road
Summary: The walk up to the Tessellated Pavements is technically on track, but it’s not maintained like a national park walk would be. It is, however, always easy to follow.
The start is on fire trail before you continue onto a narrow dirt path which has some ups and downs, as well as one or two steeper bits.
A couple of these steeper bits have some loose soil which can be a little slippery, but the majority of the track is in good condition and easy going.
Starting the trail: along the fire trail
From the lay-by where you park your car (full details below) you head up the road for just under 90m and then around the gate blocking the fire trail.
From here, whilst you’re still technically walking on a road, it’s gorgeous, relatively narrow and lined with dense trees on either side. If all fire trails looked like this one, I would never complain about having to walk on one!
Just under 200m from the gate you’ll see a small walking track sign. This threw us a bit as it seemed to point left, which is actually a private driveway, the track is straight on, reaching another gate on the left 120m later. The path now runs alongside the fence which separates the private residences on the other side.
The first 800m of this fire trail is flat and then there’s a very brief gentle descent before you reach a turning circle 170m away (or 970m) into the walk.
Onto the bush track
You’ll head straight over at the turning circle, inbetween the three posts, before you begin walking on a narrow sandy path through the bush. It’s a little uneven underfoot, with some rocks here and there, but it’s still an easy track.
We were lucky enough to be walking in spring and there were some beautiful wildflowers lining both sides of the path.
After around 350m on the bush track you’ll reach a rock platform which lasts for less than a minute before you’re back on the dirt path again. Around 150m later the path does get a little more overgrown, but you can still find your way easily enough.
Well, in the daylight anyway, we did have to look a little more closely when returning in the dark! Roughly 130m into the overgrown section you need to keep left, heading slightly downhill.
Reaching the overhang and viewpoints
A couple of hundred metres later, just over 1.8km into the walk, the path will begin heading uphill. There is a short steep section with a few rocks, but it’s not slippery (when dry). After 100m the gradient slackens, though you’re still heading uphill.
After another 100m the path will flatten and it’s now a bit overgrown again, with some very tall plants trying to reclaim the track!
This overgrown section lasts for just under 300m before you head briefly uphill again. It’s somewhat steep, which was fine on the way up, but slightly slippery on the way down.
You’ll then see a large overhang, the track continues to the left of the overhang and climbs more steeply for the next 80m. A little loose soil here made me cautious on the descent, but it wasn’t too bad, and it’s really just a very short section.
At the top of the climb, 2.4km into the walk, you’ll start to get some great views. The first view on the left side looks out over forested mountains and we had some glorious golden light which really added to it.
Roughly 70m later (just over 2.5km into the walk), on the right side of the path, you can make a short (40m) detour to another viewpoint.
This time it’s an unobstructed view over the Wollangambe Gorge and river. You have to hop over a little bit of rock platform to reach the clear views, but it’s easy and one of the best vistas of the entire track.
You can see why it’s called the Wollangambe Wilderness from up here!
Reaching the Tessellated Pavements
Once back on the worn path you have around another 250m of dirt track before you reach a short rocky descent.
It lasts for 50m and is not slippery, the path then flattens for the final 200m to the tessellated pavements.
The Tessellated Pavement covers quite a large area, though the best bit is the section you come to first. It’s a fun natural feature which has the added bonus of being surrounded by stunning mountains.
It’s a very picturesque spot and I know I’ve said it once already, but especially good at sunset.
We got lucky with one of those warm, entirely windless evenings, as well as sensational golden light that just feels good for the soul.
The atmosphere was very special, which might also be because it’s a culturally significant place for the Dharug people and there are several axe grinding groove sites scattered across the pavement.
There is also one (that we could find) very well preserved Aboriginal engraving. The person is clearly depicted with hands raised to the air, I’m not sure of the meaning, but it was wonderful to see.
Please remember never to touch any Indigenous art to protect it for future generations to come.
The art can be found on the north-easterly section of the Tessellated Pavements. There’s a small ridge in the rock and was pretty easy to spot if you look closely enough.
You could spend a long time exploring the pavement and taking in the views, so allow a bit of time before settling in to watch the sunset.
The walk back has some uphill sections and a couple of short steep descents, but you can get those out of the way in the twilight if you have visited for sunset.
Otherwise the only other place to watch out in the dark is the second slightly overgrown area where we did lose the trail briefly.
Parking for the Tessellated Pavements Walk
The last 2km of the road to the parking area in Mount Irvine (in the Blue Mountains) has some potholes, but is still suitable for any vehicle at time of writing.
There is very little parking for the trail due to a lot of no parking signs to prevent anyone blocking areas where cars might need to turn around. However, this is a seldom walked track, so you shouldn’t have trouble getting a space before the no parking signs at these coordinates -33.473299, 150.472202
Due to a windy road it takes a bit of time to reach the parking point from anywhere but Mount Wilson! it’s 11km and a 15 minute drive from Mount Wilson, 46km and a 50 minute drive from Bilpin and 54km and a 1 hour drive from Katoomba.
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