Formed from limestone and marble over 400 million years ago, Wombeyan Caves are magnificent. We’ve tried to visit many times, but La Nina followed by more wild weather events meant every time we planned a visit, it didn’t end up happening.
Thankfully in 2025 we managed to visit three times to bring you this guide sharing our experiences on the paid cave tours, as well as the self-guided tour, and a little-known free cave. If you’re up for a bit of adventure you can also visit an ethereal gorge, part cave, part canyon.
Here’s everything you need to know about visiting Wombeyan Caves.
Visiting Wombeyan Caves
The guided cave tours
The first thing to note with the guided cave tours is that not all tours run everyday, so if you have a desire to see a particular cave you need to plan your visit accordingly.
Generally speaking the Wollondilly Cave tour will run everyday as this is seen as the best all-rounder. As it was the only cave open on our visit this is the one we opted for and we weren’t disappointed.
We’re not normally guided tour people and if you’ve read many of our other articles, you’ll probably notice we always try to do everything independently. However, when it comes to Wombeyan Caves, the only way to see the most spectacular caves is via a guided tour.
As it happens, the tour was excellent and we were really glad to have done it. It gave us a nice introduction to the area as well as the cave itself and our guide was highly knowledgable and engaging, even giving us some great tips for other caves to visit throughout Australia.
We did have quite a few people in our group, but as we visited Fig Tree Cave and Tinted Cave with no one else at all, we got to experience the best of both worlds.
Tours to all caves currently cost $24 and last around 1.5 hours, so honestly, it felt like a bit of a bargain.
You can add on some of the free options to make a full day’s adventure, and you would be hard pushed to find a better way to spend a day in the highlands.
The Wollondilly Cave Tour
Walk to the cave: 1km return
Distance inside the cave: 500m
Wollondilly Cave is a show-stopper with incredible formations on a grand scale, up with the best caves we’ve seen at Jenolan.
The walkway is well-maintained and generally easy, though there are a number of large sturdy ladders you’ll need to climb and descend as you make your way along the five levels inside the cave. At the lowest point of the tour you will be a full 60m below the ground.
The ladders are wide and have handrails so they are not difficult to negotiate. The tour moves slowly, so fitness generally won’t be an issue for most people as you really are just shuffling along.
The cave chambers are outstanding and there’s even a section where you walk through a series of miniature formations, almost like a model village version of a cave, which is not something I have seen in other caves.
I can definitely see why they consider it a great all-rounder and I can’t imagine anyone being disappointed.
The self guided cave tour
Walk to the cave: 1.3km return
Distance inside the cave: 370m each way
The only major show cave you can visit without a tour is Fig Tree Cave and it’s a stunner. It’s token operated and then you make your way round at your own pace.
As you explore the cave different sections are illuminated and commentary begins to play telling you about the formations and general details about the cave.
This generally works well, although if - like us - you usually take a lot of photos and have a good look around, you’ll probably find you hear the same commentary many times, and sometimes have to do a bit of a dance to reactivate the lights!
The cave itself has many incredible formations and the main chamber is huge. The walkway is well manicured, though it can be a little wet in places.
There are some stairs and a 500m gentle incline required to reach the start of the cave.
At the time of our visit, the very last part of the cave which connects with Victoria Arch was closed, but it is set to re-open which will allow you to make the walk a circuit - the arch is just 100m from the visitor centre.
Entry is priced at $20 and I think it’s a little steep if you did this cave alone. The guided cave tours are just $4 more, and they are even more ornate and have the bonus of entertaining and knowledgable guides.
However, if you also do one of the guided tours then you can add Fig Tree Cave on to your ticket for $9 and at that price it’s well worth it.
I did enjoy the chance to experience such a grand cave independently and we were lucky enough to be the only ones inside for the entire time which made it extra special.
The free cave tour
Walk to the cave: 2.8km return
Distance inside the cave: 45m each way
I wasn’t expecting much from Tinted Cave - a little-known free cave at Wombeyan - but it completely blew me away. Although only small, you walk for just 40m in the first chamber and 5m in the second, it is fabulous.
The cave is not signposted, but accessed via the Mares Creek Canyon Track (on the signposts it’s known as the ‘Limestone Gorge’).
You’ll follow the well maintained path for 1.4km and then you need to look for the worn path leading off to the right.
As you enter the cave you’ll see a light switch and this is how you can navigate the cave without a torch. It’s still fairly low-lit, so it’s atmospheric rather than garish.
As with Fig Tree Cave, if you are slow like us, the light will turn out. If you head through to the open section between the two chambers, there’s another light switch you can use to reactive them.
The walkway through the cave is manicured and there are lots of stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone and a cool arch you can walk under.
You could skip through the whole cave in less than 10 minutes, but the longer you take the more you will see and it’s honestly such a fun experience, especially as you are highly likely to be the only one there.
Once you have passed through the first part of the cave, there’s a little open ledge area with great views down to the gorge.
From here you head down some stairs and then walk for a couple of metres to a truly incredible view.
This chamber has the most extraordinary colours I have seen in any cave anywhere in the world. It looks like an artist has come by and splashed the walls pink, blue and green and the delicate formations are simply spectacular (the colours are the result of iron oxide). .
The cave also has a window out to the gorge below and you can watch as swallows flit in and out of the crevices.
It’s just incredible and I can’t believe you are allowed to go and see it for free, yet we never see anyone talking about it.
If you visit Tinted Cave and then head through Mares Creek Canyon, you will have experienced the best adventure in the Southern Highlands in my opinion.
Victoria Arch
Walk to the arch: 300m return
Other than Tinted Cave, Victoria Arch is the only other cave you can see without paying an entry fee. It’s a huge open chamber, so there is a lot of light, and therefore it does feel more like an arch than a cave, though it is technically the final chamber of Fig Tree Cave.
The ceiling and walls are dripping in stalactites and some of the colours you’ll see at Tinted Cave are also present on the walls of Victoria Arch, although they are less vivid.
The walk to the arch is fully accessible and then there are a series of steps leading down into the chamber. Unfortunately during our visit they were closed, but work is currently in progress to restore access.
The epic canyon adventure
Walk to the canyon: 3km return
Distance inside the canyon: 1.3km each way
I love the caves at Wombeyan, but for me the jewel in the crown of the reserve is Mares Creek Canyon. It’s a canyon like no other.
Carved from marble it’s part cave, part canyon, with incredible formations along its ethereal walls. The more closely you look the more its delicate features will reveal themselves.
Wherever light touches the water, it shines a luminous blue green, and swimming through the shimmering pools is an experience that will stick with you for many years to come.
And just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, your journey ends at an iridescent blue waterfall pool.
It’s also a pretty easy adventure and a great introductory canyon if you’ve not yet tackled some of the Blue Mountains legendary slots.
Parking at Wombeyan Karst Reserve
The closest car park to the trailheads for all caves and Mares Creek Canyon is the one beside the visitor centre. Note that this car park has a gate in front of it and at time of writing it shuts at 4.30pm. There are toilets, a picnic area and a vending machine for hot drinks and snacks here.
The reserve has been hit by many flooding and storm events in recent years, so check it’s open here before making the journey out.
Though two roads lead to the reserve, only one is currently open and that is via Taralga. A section of gravel road begins 14km before you reach the reserve, but it doesn’t last the whole way to the parking area. Currently 8.5km of the road is gravel and the rest is sealed. It is suitable for any car at time of writing.
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