Due to its altitude, the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden is home to various cool-climate plants from Australia and around the world. The garden is divided into continental zones, so visitors can feel like they’re touring the world as they wander.
Many visitors come on a day trip from Sydney, checking out other mountain highlights along the way, including wildlife parks, walks to lookouts and waterfalls, and the cute towns of Katoomba and Leura. Travelers staying in the Blue Mountains with more time to spend at the gardens can take a picnic to eat among the plants, follow walking trails, or take a private or group walking tour.
The gardens are free to enter.
Public tours operate a few times per week by donation, but private guided tours can be arranged at various times for a fee.
The gardens offer mobility scooter hire for a small fee when booked in advance.
The gardens are about 65 miles (105 kilometers) west of Sydney, around a two-hour drive from the central city, following the M2 and M7 motorways. Due to its rural location, there’s no public transport directly to the gardens, but some people take a train from Sydney to Mt. Victoria in the Blue Mountains.
The gardens are open every day of the year except Christmas Day. Thanks to its higher altitude, this is a pleasant place to visit in the summer (December–February) to escape the hotter climate at lower altitudes. Seasonal events take place to coincide with what is flowering or in season.
Many travelers to the Blue Mountains also visit the Three Sisters, dramatic rock formations on a cliff overlooking the forest-covered mountainous landscape. The lookout point is near Katoomba and is one of the best places to go to understand why the Blue Mountains are named as they are: the haze in the air from eucalyptus tree oil really does look blue here.