The beautiful Pool of Siloam has become increasingly popular, so it’s best to avoid weekends to enjoy this easily-reached tranquil swimming hole on Gordon Creek. The creek cascades into a small pool; although it’s an enticing swimming hole on a hot day, note that that the Gordon Creek consistently rates as one of the most-polluted waterways in the Blue Mountains.
The pool gets its name from the the Biblical “Pool of Siloam”’ (Birkhat Hashiloah in Hebrew) in the City of David, which the Gospels referred to as the place where Jesus healed a man born blind. It was used as a ritual bath (mikveh) by pilgrims who converged at the Pool of Siloam before ascending through the City of David to the Temple.
Below the pool, the creek flows though beautiful rainforest; a little further downstreat it plunges dramatically over the cliff to form Gordon Falls.
Getting to Pool of Siloam
There’s a couple of ways to reach the pool; both are via the very scenic Pool of Siloam Track. The shortest route (900m return) starts at the Gordon Falls Picnic Area, near the junction of Lone Pine Avenue and Olympian Parade.
The trail descends steeply through the shaded rainforest, with a few hundred steps along the way.
The path crosses Gordon Creek via a series of stone steps.
On the other side of the creek, the track continues to Gladstone Road via Golf Links Lookout, which is the alternate route to the pool (1.6km return).
Both the trailheads are about a 5min drive from Katoomba, or 1:30min from Sydney. It’s an easy bushwalk to do via public transport, with the Gordon Falls Picnic Area a 1.8km walk from Leura station.
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