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The Three Sisters

Three Sandstone Pillars at Echo Point, Katoomba

location_on Katoomba

The Three Sisters

The Three Sisters are a set of three weathered sandstone pillars on the edge of the Jamison Valley in the Blue Mountains National Park, visible from the Echo Point Lookout in Katoomba. The pillars are the most recognisable natural feature in the Blue Mountains and one of the most photographed landmarks in New South Wales. Meehni, the tallest, rises 922 metres above sea level; Wimlah is 918 metres and Gunnedoo is 906 metres.

The traditional story of the Three Sisters comes from the Gundungurra people, who explain the pillars as three sisters named Meehni, Wimlah and Gunnedoo who were turned to stone to protect them from a bunyip and then could not be restored when the elder who cast the spell was killed before reversing it. The story is told in full on the interpretive signage at Echo Point.

Geologically the pillars are made of Banks Wall Sandstone, the hardest rock layer in the Blue Mountains, which is why they remain standing while the softer shale around them has eroded away. They are slowly eroding themselves and are expected to collapse in geological time, though probably not in any human lifetime.

The Echo Point Lookout is the standard place to see the Three Sisters and is a sealed, fully accessible platform a short walk from the Katoomba CBD. The Giant Stairway, a set of 998 stone steps cut into the cliff, starts at Echo Point and descends into the Jamison Valley, offering a completely different view of the pillars from below. At night the sisters are floodlit.

terrain

922 m

Tallest pillar (Meehni)

stairs

998 steps

Giant Stairway

visibility

Echo Point

Visible from