Walls Cave is one of the most impressive caves in the Blue Mountains and also has special significance as a Daruk Women’s site - a place where Indigenous women would have met to share stories. The cave itself is huge and though you cannot venture into it, the viewing platform allows you to really take in the immense scale.
On the way to the cave you’ll also pass a small slot canyon and can take a short hidden track to explore it a little further. The combination of the two spots makes this one of the best short walks in Blackheath.
Here’s everything you need to know about visiting Walls Cave.
The walk to Walls Cave
The stats
Distance: 1.8km return
Elevation gain: 130m
Difficulty: Easy, but many steps
Summary: The track to Walls Cave is very well maintained, however, there are a lot of steps - which is more of an issue on the way back up! The steps are in excellent condition though and very even, so the terrain is easy. The off shoot to explore a little more of the slot canyon is very short, but it’s a rougher track.
It can be slippery and requires climbing down a few rocks. However, you don’t need to do this bit if you don’t want to, as you get a great view of the canyon from the main track.
Starting the trail: descending through the bush
From the parking area (details below) the walk heads straight into the bush. The stairs begin almost immediately, but are quite shallow at first.
There are a couple of little breaks in the stairs as you descend towards the cave, but emphasis on the word little. For the most part the first 760m are all downhill.
At the 500m mark the stairs veer right and the junction is signposted as Walls Cave. It's a more open track here and you can actually see the gaping cave mouth in the distance.
Once you’ve been walking for 690m the path will curve left. However, before it does you’ll notice a small pink ribbon tied to a tree straight ahead of you. This marks the turning to explore more of the slot canyon.
The slot canyon
I’d recommend continuing to the view of the slot canyon from the main track first. It’s actually the best view of the canyon in my opinion, so you can check it out first before deciding whether you want to explore a little further.
As the track heads left you’ll descend into a wetter area, with plenty of ferns covering the damp cliff walls.
Once you’ve been walking for 760m you’ll reach a small metal bridge.
The bridge is right by the entry to the slot canyon and offers a fantastic view. The swirling canyon walls with the creek flowing through it make for an absolutely beautiful scene.
The path to the cave continues past this bridge and over some very picturesque stepping stones. It’s such a pretty section of track; with the canyon wall, fast flowing creek and stepping stones which blend in perfectly with the surrounds.
The stepping stones last for around 30m and despite being very wet on our visit, were not slippery. They are evenly spaced and easy to walk on, though the last couple wobbled a touch - though not in a worrying way!
At the end of the stepping stones you have 45m to go to the cave. There is a short staircase uphill followed by flat track along an impressive overhang, before you descend one last staircase to the viewing platform.
Walls Cave
Walls Cave is incredibly impressive and the viewing platform offers a fabulous view of the cave which towers above you. It’s a dramatic spot and there’s a little bench seat you can enjoy it from.
You are asked not to leave the viewing platform and enter the cave due to its special significance to the Daruk women, who used the cave as a place to share stories.
I hadn’t realised you couldn’t enter the cave before starting the walk, but honestly, it’s still very much worth visiting. You can still take in the scale of the cave and it has a peaceful atmosphere.
You can imagine it making a great shelter, with the protective walls and access to the creek.
When you’re ready to leave Walls Cave, you can either retrace your steps back to the car park, or make the short diversion to the other side of the slot canyon.
The other side of the canyon
Retrace your steps back to the tree with the pink ribbon, which is 150m from the cave. You’ll see a narrow path heading into the bush. It quickly becomes rocky and can be a touch slippery when wet.
It’s only 50m long and after climbing down the rocky track and then over a couple of slightly bigger rocks you’ll come to the other side of the canyon.
You can walk along the narrow canyon wall and get a view back to the small metal bridge you just crossed.
You can climb up the rocky wall straight ahead of you, but unfortunately the ledge to the left narrows and the wall is slanted, so you can’t actually view what’s round the corner.
Still it offers a good view of the canyon, though it’s not necessary to climb this bit if you don’t like the look of it.
Around the corner from the canyon is a small set of cascades, which provide a nice soundtrack for enjoying the canyon.
Parking for Walls Cave
The parking area for Walls Cave is located in Blackheath and can be found here on Google maps. There’s plenty of parking as there are two areas you can use, one by the trailhead and one just before it, separated by a 30 second walk.
The car park is 4km (6 minute drive) from Blackheath town centre, a 15 minute drive from Katoomba and a 1.5 hour drive from Sydney.
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