The Valley of the Waters walking track is an exciting hike in the Wentworth Falls area of the Blue Mountains that follows a creek into the valley.
This rather steep track is an absolute treat, taking in several beautiful waterfalls and cascades, including Empress Falls, Sylvia Falls, and Lodore Falls.
Valley of the Waters Track | |
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Distance: | 2.5 km (return) |
Duration: | 1.5 hours |
Grade: | Moderate (steep sections) |
Dogs: | Not allowed |
How to Get There
The Valley of the Waters track is a return walking trail that starts from the old Conservation Hut in Wentworth Falls.
Driving there is easy. Turn into Falls Road from the Great Western Highway, followed by a right turn into Fletcher Street, which leads to a well-sized car park (see map location).
The Conservation Hut, which now functions as a cafe, is the starting point of several walking tracks in the area, such as:
- Valley of the Waters Track
- Nature Track
- Overcliff Undercliff Track
- Empress Falls Track
For a nice hiking adventure, we recommend doing the Nature Track in combination with the Valley of the Waters Track. These two trails connect just before Empress Falls, becoming a loop walk.

Map and Highlights
The Valley of the Waters walking track is relatively short but also quite steep as it descends into the valley along the creek. The trail itself is well-maintained and signposted and is very easy to follow.
We strongly recommend wearing good hiking shoes as the path can get a bit slippery, especially during or after rainfall.
Below is a map of the Valley of the Waters track with the following waterfalls marked from one to four:
- Empress Falls
- Sylvia Falls
- Lodore Falls
- Flat Rock Falls
Track Notes
Once you’ve arrived at the Conservation Hut, find the start of the walking trail left of the building, where the path heads into the bush.
The first section of the walk is an easy-to-follow path on wooden steps before it arrives at the Queen Victoria Lookout, which offers fantastic views of the Jamison Valley.

This lookout is soon followed by the Empress Lookout, from where you can see the top of Empress Falls if you look closely.
From Empress Lookout, the walking track quickly descends into the valley via metal stairs and steps cut into the rocks.

While this section of the track is quite steep, the various handrails and the stairs make it easy and safe to navigate.
The track soon arrives at an intersection with the Nature Track, where you have to turn left to continue on the main track to Empress Falls.
1. Empress Falls
Before arriving at Empress Falls, the track crosses Isobel Creek via stepping stones, entering a more lush rainforest-type environment.

Just past this creek crossing, Empress Falls becomes visible between the trees, with the track going around the waterfall and continuing via a set of stepping stones in front of the water spectacle.
The views from that spot of the waterfall are spectacular, and if you’re lucky, you might even spot some canyoners abseiling down the falls into the pool.
2. Sylvia Falls
The stepping stones in front of Empress Falls are where the walking track crosses the Valley of the Waters Creek.

To continue the walk to Sylvia Falls, keep following the path after crossing the creek, and the next waterfall will soon appear on your left.

The track descends further into the valley via a staircase alongside Sylvia Falls before arriving at another set of stepping stones right in front of the waterfall.
The views into the other direction are fantastic, too, with the valley below and the cliff walls surrounding the valley.
3. Lodore Falls
After crossing the creek once again via the stepping stones, the track descends further via a set of stairs, keeping the valley and the creek to the right.

This is where the Valley of the Waters Creek makes a big drop in the form of Lodore Falls, a rather large waterfall spectacle.
But as spectacular as Lodore Falls is, the views are obscured by the trees along the walking path, although there are a few spots where you can still see bits of the waterfall.
4. Flat Rock Falls
The track soon passes an intersection with the National Pass walking track (which is closed until further notice) and continues in a zig-zag style to Flat Rock Falls.

This waterfall might be a bit smaller than the previous ones, but it’s just as pretty in its own right.
Keen to see even more waterfalls?
The trail continues beyond Flat Rock Falls with more waterfalls to discover, in the following order:
- Brittania Falls
- Red Rock Falls
- Vera Falls
Brittania Falls and Red Rock Falls are not too far from Flat Rock Falls, but Vera Falls is a bit further away into the valley, and the track there is generally considered hard.
Also note that Brittania Falls and Red Rock Falls are still part of the Wentworth Pass circuit walk, whereas Vera Falls is located well beyond the intersection with Wentworth Pass.