Giant Stairway — Attraction in Blue Mountains National Park

Great walk with wonderful views. Some sections are quite narrow so you'll have to stop to let people pass, but there are handrails everywhere. A few steep sections of stairs whixh are obvriously easier to walk down than up. Plenty of opportunities for a rest with seats along the way and lots of opportunities for selfies.

The bottom of the Giant Stairway is only marked by a "you are here" sign and you have three options at the bottom: 1) Head back up the way you came, 2) Take the 1-2hrs walk to the Scenic Railway on your right, or 3) Take the path to your left to continue your bushwalk. We went back up and had a few moments where our legs felt like they'd turned to jelly from all the climbing up!

I did the walk with my three young kids (aged 2, 6, and 9yrs) and they were fine. Mind you, we're relatively fit. Had my youngest in a carrier on my back for the way down and half of the way up before she demanded to walk herself (which she did by herself).

This walk can get pretty busy. We did it in the late afternoon on a cold day so there weren't as many people. The walk from Echo Point information centre down the Giant Stairway and back up again, with 3 kids and some quick stops on the way up (for the youngest) took...

Well, I got down the first set of ladders/steep steps, constantly politely waiting for people coming up from somewhere below. They looked exhausted. After edging myself down and seeing so many people returning before getting very far down, I decided to do myself a favour and return to the top. My excuses are that it was a bit slippery, I didn't really have the right walking gear for such a mountain climb and at my age I have better things to do that scale ladders built into steep rock faces.

This is certainly a challenge. Perhaps if I had come better prepared, was patient enough to follow the others also inadequately prepared for such a climb and I was 30 years younger I would have enjoyed this one.

Oh, and they say that the views are nice here. It's difficult to say when you are constantly checking where to place your foot for the next step. But to be fair from the top and at the Lookouts where exhausted walkers like me could recover, the views over the Jamison Valley and the Blue Mountains in general...

I just want to use two words to describe the experience, "Oh, man!"

It is one of the scariest hikes I have ever done. 900 steps, some of which are really steep with turns that you can even see where they lead to. The path is so narrow that most part allows one person to pass. So be mindful of the traffic as giving ways in the midst of the climbing can make you a bit nervous.

Getting down can be quick and scary but walking back up is more tiring and takes much longer. For someone who exercises regularly it will take about 30 mins with short breaks.

For people with acrophobia, or fear of height, the best strategy is not to look away, just to focus on the steps. It is not dangerous per se. As narrow as the path is, there are hand rails on both sides. As long as you focus on your steps and hold onto the rails, it will be fine. Only take photos if you feel comfortable while...