Sylvia Falls – stunning waterfall and valley views

Sylvia Falls is one of the Top 10 most stunning waterfalls in the Blue Mountains, formed by the Valley of the Waters Creek cascading over multiple rock tiers. It was named in 1985 by Peter Mulheran, a caretaker for the Wentworth Falls Trust, who was responsible for many of the tracks in the Wentworth Falls area. It may have been named after the Latin word for forest (Silva), or its silvery appearance from the sun shining on the dark rocks or from Shakespeare’s Silvia…

Unless it be to think that she is by
And feed upon the shadow of perfection
Except I be by Silvia in the night,
There is no music in the nightingale;

Shakespeare, Two Gentlemen of Verona

From the top of Sylvia Falls there’s a view back down the valley, with the escarpment cliffs towering above.

The Valley of the Waters Track follows the edge of the waterfall, offering many different perspectives of the enchanting falls.

Getting to Sylvia Falls

It’a a fantastic (albeit steep) bushwalk to Sylvia Falls, and suitable for a warm day with much of the track being in the shade. The shortest access is from the Conservation Hut at the end of Fletcher St in Wentworth Falls (about 2.5km from Wentworth Falls station).

• Take the signposted Valley of the Waters Track.

• A very short side-trip to Queen Victoria Lookout provides some great views over the Jamison Valley

• Continue descending to Empress Lookout.

• From Empress Lookout, the Valley of the Waters Track drops below the cliff-line, and passes Isobel Falls before reaching the top of Empress Falls.

• Follow the track down as it descends along the spectacular Empress Falls, before it reaches the top of Sylvia Falls.

From here you can…

• Return the same way (1.5km)
• Continue along the Valley of the Waters Track further down the valley past three more small waterfalls (2.5km)
• You can also visit Sylvia Falls via the much longer and more challenging Hippocrene and Vera Falls Loop (13.3km)