Attractions in Leura Blue Mountains

Everglades Gardens

Address: 37 Everglades Avenue, Leura
Phone: 02 4784 1938

Today, the Everglades Gardens are an amazing combination of the past and the present. Throughout the park-like gardens designed by Danish-born Paul Sorenson, we move from a formal amphitheatre setting to native bush outlooks, all in the course of a few minutes. Sorenson’s expertise is apparent throughout.

Henri Van de Velde purchased this rocky and sloping thirteen acres, much of it damp. A primitive weatherboard, which the family used for weekends in the Blue Mountains, sat above the million-dollar views into Jamison Valley. A year later in 1933 when Australia was caught in the throes of the world-wide depression, wealthy Van de Velde commissioned Paul Sorenson to create a garden. And, what a garden they built.

With a small army of local artisans and labourers, Sorenson cut and levelled the property creating a terraced paradise, a series of formal and informal gardens down the hillside. Thousands of tons of earth and rock were moved and Sorenson’s sixty workers built miles of curving dry-pack retaining walls and gently sloping paths.

In 1936, the new modern-style summer house was completed, a rambling two-storey Art Deco in the centre of Sorenson’s Everglades. Sorenson continued his collaboration at Everglades until Van de Velde’s death in 1947 when the property was then sold. In 1962 The National Trust acquired the property and the Van de Velde summer residence is now home to the charming Tea Room and Gift Shop.

Everglades Gardens Special holidays have recently become annual events at Everglades and the excitement and commotion of young children and their grandparents can be heard throughout the gardens. It is the Gardens’ effort to bring a new generation into this setting that will ensure its future now and in the decades ahead.

But, a gardener’s work is never done. Restorations continue daily carrying on the work of Paul Sorenson in the magnificent Blue Mountains ‘gardens for all seasons’.

Leura Golf Club

Address: Sublime Point Road
Phone: 02 4782 5011

It would be hard to find a more dramatic setting for a round of golf. With exceptional views of the Blue Mountains from every hole, it is the 14th that leaves one gasping in awe. We are vividly reminded that even in a sporting environment, we are still surrounded by the spirit of the World Heritage-listed Blue Mountains.

For more than 100 years, golf and the Leura Golf Club – now adjacent to the York Fairmont Resort Blue Mountains, have been an integral part of the recreational and social scene. Members are proud of their important and long heritage in Leura.

And Leura golfers and their guests have been, and continue to be, a hardy bunch — inclement weather does not deter them. Driving along Sublime Point Road in an early morning misting fog, a lone golfer can be sighted, headed for the second tee. Hopefully the spectacular vistas of the Blue Mountains, however limited, bring out spectacular golfing!

Leura Golf Club View Blue Mountains NSW

If you have arrived empty handed, you can hire everything from the first-rate golf shop: motorised carts, clubs or shoes. Note: Call for details about the Leura Golf Open held annually in the Blue Mountains in September.

Scenic World Blue Mountains

Address: Corner of Violet Street and Cliff Drive, Katoomba
Phone: 02 4782 2699

Four distinctive and thrilling rides and walkways make up the Scenic World attraction and each is one of a kind. From the Skyway above, or on the world’s steepest railway, you’ll see ancient ravines and waterfalls, Mt Solitary, Ruined Castle and the old 1890 coal mines of the Blue Mountains. International travellers, school children and backpackers come from all corners of the world to Scenic World in the Blue Mountains and this is an experience you won’t want to miss. Don’t overlook the short explanatory film as it prepares you for the natural spectacles you are about to see. Scenic World has a small café for take away, and an open air restaurant overlooking the Jamison Valley is a delight on a sunny day.

The Leura Bushwalks: The Lookouts

In The Leura Bushwalks, we are taking you on three easy walks that go beyond the shopping area of Leura. While not vigorous, these walks take you out of the village centre and into nature’s bounty. Along the escarpment and down to the lookouts you will discover Leura in its relationship to the Blue Mountains and the World Heritage designation that preserves it. Each short walk to a lookout will get you up close and personal with the natural beauty that prompted Leura’s attraction to visitors to the Blue Mountains.