You can tour any of 11 show caves, each one different. Tours are 1 to 2 hours in duration. Although all the show caves include stairs, some are easier than others and there is a cave tour to suit most people. With prior notice, there is even limited wheelchair access. The Jenolan Caves and their amazing formations were explored by men slithering up and down muddy slopes and through small openings with only candlelight to guide them. Today, challenge seekers can also enjoy an exhilarating experience crawling, squeezing and climbing in undeveloped caves.
There are 4 levels of adventure caving experiences, to suit novices to veterans, from 2 hours to a full day. Bookings for these adventure tours are essential. Jenolan Caves also offers evening tours. During NSW school holidays, there are tours that have been specially developed for children, aged For those who prefer to tour at their own pace, there is the self-guided tour complementary with the purchase of a show cave tour ticket.
Sometimes, history tours are available. Visit Jenolan Caves to see the concerts and events calendar. Plus, it is still free of charge to stroll along the several bush tracks at Jenolan Caves. The best known is the 6 Foot Track.
The caves are set in a 2, hectare reserve which has beautiful bush trails with lookouts and restful spots to enjoy the scenery. Colourful birds and native animals, wallabies, kangaroos, possums, echidna and wombats make their homes in this habitat. The 46km, 6 foot track from Katoomba to Jenolan Caves has become a popular walking track for self-planned groups or guided walks.
The 6 foot track follows the route of the original horse track marked out in This walk is suitable for anyone reasonably fit and can be traveled comfortably in 2 and a half days.
The annual 6 Foot Track Marathon takes place on the second weekend in March. The name is derived from a Slavic word meaning "bare and waterless". Jenolan is an 'impounded' karst, because the limestone receives most of its water from the surrounding insoluble rocks.
Caves, and other karst features, are produced because limestone is soluble in water which contains dissolved carbon dioxide and organic acids. As it falls, rain picks up atmospheric carbon dioxide. When the water passes through the soil, more carbon dioxide, from plant roots and decaying vegetable matter, becomes dissolved in the water, along with complex organic acids, called humic acids.
This ground water is easily able to dissolve limestone. Limestones which contain large cave systems have few pore spaces. Therefore, ground water moves along planes of weakness in the rock joints, bedding planes and faults. This concentrates solution to structurally controlled zones, rather than allowing solution to be spread evenly throughout the rock. So, the formation of large, complex cave systems depends on:.
Solution cavities in limestone may be completely water filled. This is called the phreatic zone. Water in the phreatic zone may be relatively still nothephreatic , or it may be moving quickly under pressure dynamic phreatic. Travel through these caves and see the underground rivers and stunning natural archways that created a purely unique experience.
Travel along the windy roads for a short three-hours and find yourself immersed in the lush forestland and dark cave area of the Blue Mountains. As there is no public admission to the caves, you must join a tour to see the inside of these magnificent systems.
Tours range from simple walking tours to extreme rock-climbing tours for the adrenaline junkies. This eventually compressed the sediments lithification into the hard rock known as limestone.
Also, over millions of years, Earth movements lift both the limestone and the covering volcanics from the sea, and expose it to the atmosphere.
During the uplifting process, the rock is often turned, twisted and deformed. You may see the beds of limestone at various angles, even completely overturned. Once exposed to surface conditions, the overlying volcanics are open to the elements. During long periods of time, they are often eroded to expose the limestone.
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