Summit Ruined Castle & Mount Solitary in One (Long) Day in the Blue Mountains

If you’re looking for your next challenging day hike, then the gruelling 21km trek from Furber Steps to Ruined Castle and Mount Solitary will literally stop you in your tracks (from exhaustion!).

We Are Explorers acknowledges that this adventure is located on the traditional Country of the Gundungurra people who have occupied and cared for the lands, waters, and their inhabitants for thousands of years. We pay our respects to them as the Traditional Custodians and recognise that sovereignty was never ceded.

Quick Overview

The Furber Steps to Ruined Castle and Mount Solitary track is a 21km Grade 5 out-and-back hike, located in the NSW Blue Mountains National Park, about 105km west of Sydney.

The hike is usually completed over two days, however experienced hikers with a high degree of fitness can complete it as a ten-hour day hike.

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Furber Steps to Ruined Castle and Mount Solitary Hike Facts

Distance: 21km return
Duration: 2 days (or a 10-hour day hike)
Elevation gain: 1,240m
Nearest town: Katoomba

About Ruined Castle and Mount Solitary

The Ruined Castle and Mount Solitary track is a challenging but popular hike in the NSW Blue Mountains National Park. Technically, it’s two tracks joined together, beginning as the Grade 4 Ruined Castle hike, which can be completed independently as an 8.5km loop. However, many hikers choose to add on the Grade 5 Mount Solitary trek, which begins at the Ruined Castle base. Completing both hikes together creates the challenging 21.2km out-and-back hike.

The track begins at the Furber Steps (an alternative start point is the Golden Staircase), leading you down into the lush Jamison Valley rainforest and onto Federal Pass.

The extended hike tests not only your endurance, but your navigation and climbing skills. Scaling the famous Ruined Castle rock formation requires an ‘ain’t nothing to it but to do it’ attitude, as you free climb to the summit. However, not to be outdone, the trek to Mount Solitary’s summit challenges hikers with a traverse across Korowal Knife Edge involving a barely-marked boulder scramble to the top. 

The end of the hike borders on Type 2 fun as you climb back up the 951 Furber Steps after 20km. However, you’ve been rewarded with lush rainforests, panoramic views of the Jamison Valley, historic landmarks, important Aboriginal sites, and the undeniable feeling of accomplishment upon both summits. So, it’s totally worth it.

Ruined Castle and Mount Solitary History

Federal Pass, which serves as the beginning of the trek, was originally constructed in 1900 by the Katoomba community. The track was expanded in 1936 to include the old horse-drawn coal tramway line, built in the 1880s to service the Ruined Castle coal mines. Today, remnants of old miners’ cottages, sealed off coal mines, and campgrounds dating back to 1882 can still be seen at various points along the track.

Mount Solitary is known as Korowal to the region’s Aboriginal people, which translates to ‘the strong one’. The latter part of Mount Solitary is also rich in Aboriginal culture, with hikers passing by the Gundungurra Aboriginal site.

How to Get to the Ruined Castle and Mount Solitary Hike

The trek begins at the Furber Steps, which are accessible from two locations: Scenic World or the Katoomba Falls Reserve. Your chosen start point will also be your finishing point on this return trek.

By Car

If you’re driving, I suggest beginning at the Katoomba Falls Reserve where there’s plenty of parking. The reserve is a 1.5-hour drive from Sydney.

By Public Transport

If you’re travelling via public transport, Scenic World will be your most convenient starting location. From Sydney CBD, you can catch the Blue Mountains line from Central Station to Katoomba, which takes around two hours. From there, a quick four-minute walk down Katoomba Street takes you to the Carrington Hotel bus station, where bus 686 will take you on a short ten-minute trip to Scenic World.

Where to Stay Along the Ruined Castle and Mount Solitary Hike

If you decide to complete the track over two days, there are multiple camping spots to choose from. Near the base of Ruined Castle you’ll pass the old miners’ campground, now equipped with toilets. During the week when it’s less busy, most spots are usually vacant.

If you choose to push on a little further and attempt Mount Solitary on day one, there are a number of camping spots with fire pits scattered across the summit.

Read more: How To Explore Safely In Bushfire Season

Skill Level

Advanced

Completing the entire trek requires an advanced level of outdoor experience. Much of the Mount Solitary trek is overgrown and completely unmarked, requiring good navigation skills.

The trek also requires hikers to have confidence to climb different rock formations, boulder scramble, and navigate slippery and uneven/loose surfaces.

The track isn’t wheelchair accessible and has very little cell reception. NSW National Parks recommends hiring a PLB for free at the Blue Mountains Heritage Centre in Blackheath.

Essential Gear

• Plenty of water (hydration packs are a good option)
• Some form of GPS navigation
• Good hiking boots with grip
• Warm clothing – the mornings and nights are chilly!
• First aid kit
• Food/electrolytes
• PLB
• Headlamp
• Camping gear for those doing an overnight trip (suitable to the hiking season)
• Matches

What’s it Like to Hike Furber Steps to Ruined Castle and Mount Solitary

Furber Steps to Ruined Castle

If you decide to do the hike in one day, I recommend starting early, particularly if you’re attempting it during the winter months when the days are shorter. I started at 9am and found myself hiking for an hour in the dark at the end, having underestimated how much time I’d spend admiring the views.

As you descend the 951 steep Furber Steps into the Jamison Valley, you’ll be rewarded with views of the 230m high Katoomba Falls. The skinny steps are mostly made of rock or metal grating and can be slippery, particularly after rainfall, so be wary of your footing.

Descending the steps wasn’t strenuous, but I had in the back of mind the knowledge that after 20km, I’d be climbing back up them again!

As you reach the bottom, continue along a well-maintained track through the lush, temperate valley floor. The beginning of the track is alive with the calls of Lyrebirds and Yellow robins, intermixed with the trickle of water down from the waterfalls. However, the noises gradually fade into silence and the early morning mist which sits between the trees gives the forest an eerie but beautiful aura. 

Eventually, you’ll come to the boardwalk over the Scenic World railway, then exit through a side gate onto Federal Pass. From here, the track thins and becomes more overgrown. Recent landslides have caused trees to block sections of the path, requiring a bit of scrambling, but nothing too difficult.

As the route becomes dense with overgrowth, there’s not much to do besides bush-bash your way through until you arrive at the Ruined Castle loop intersection. 

Heading to the right takes you up a steep, muddy incline towards Ruined Castle. To the left takes you to the Ruined Castle Campground. Whether you’re doing the trek in one day or two, I suggest summiting Ruined Castle first. You’ll then descend the other side where you’ll reach the intersection between the beginning of the Mount Solitary Trek and the return to the Ruined Castle Campground. 

Climbing Ruined Castle was my favourite part of the trek. There are three peaks to Ruined Castle and no marked way up. I headed around to the left side and climbed up from there. It can be precarious at times, so the best advice is to hold on tight and don’t attempt what you’re not confident you can complete. 

The Mount Solitary Trek

If you thought Federal Pass was overgrown, you’ll be shocked at sections of the Mount Solitary track. Parts are non-existent and rely on your navigation skills (a GPS map is ideal). However recent upgrades near the beginning of the ascent have made the track here very easy to follow (though steep!).

Read more: Navigating With a Map & Compass

As you near the summit, you’ll come to the Korowal Knife Edge along Mount Solitary’s northwest ridge. This is where the real fun begins.

The boulder scramble to the summit is unmarked besides a few navigation arrows, which have been recently fastened to the rock. It’s steep in sections with loose gravel, so careful footwork is required. The views over the valley are gorgeous, particularly on the way back down if you’re lucky enough to catch the afternoon sun. 

There are two ways up the Mount Solitary summit, with the traverse being the easier option. However, given much of the trail is unmarked, you could find yourself, as I did, on what I like to call the ‘make your own trail’ option. Which is essentially grabbing tree roots and bush-bashing your way up the side of the mountain until you find yourself near the top of the traverse. 

I say this is another option and not just me getting lost, as the compacted earth and a couple of navigation arrows told me others have also found themselves on this side of the mountain. 

The summit is slightly anticlimactic and is essentially just a forest with areas cleared for camping. However, once you pass the campsites and begin your descent, you’ll come to Chinamans Gully camping area. From here you’ll have access to two lookouts. The first is Melvilles Lookout, giving panoramic views over the Southern Blue Mountains, including Lake Burragorang and the Wild Dog Mountains. 

Continuing through Chinamans Gully, you pass the Gundungurra Aboriginal site – a series of sandstones overhanging cliffs used as shelters by Aboriginal people for thousands of years. Keep walking and you eventually come to a spectacular lookout at the north end of Chinamans Gully, which also marks the hike’s halfway point. 

The only thing left to do now is turn around and head all the way back!

Tips for Hiking Ruined Castle and Mount Solitary

• There are water sources along the track, including creeks, waterholes, and tanks, however all water needs to be treated before drinking
• Beyond the Ruined Castle Campground there are no more toilets, so be sure to empty your bladder before beginning the Mount Solitary track!

Feature photo by @wanderer_rachel

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