Beyond the Three Sisters: a local reveals the Blue Mountains' 10 hidden gems

1. FOOD: The Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, are famous for the Three Sisters, millions of eucalyptus trees and the steepest passenger train in the world. But there's so much more to see and do. Let's start with the food. Several top Blue Mountains hotel-restaurant chefs have quietly branched out on their own. Gia Cafe & Bistro in Leura serves food faves with a Sri Lankan twist by day and curry at night. Katoomba's Cafe Lurline serves cafe fare by day and street-style barbecue dishes after dark, while its sister venue Smokey Bundits is a gourmet burger joint. Jamison Views Restaurant at Katoomba's Hotel Mountain Heritage has undergone a food revolution (one diner asked for five serves of the cauliflower soup - two after dessert), while down an arcade in Springwood, the two-hatted Arrana Restaurant (you'll see gold bollards and white feathers at the entrance) focuses on dishes with Indigenous ingredients.

2. BOOKSHOP TRAIL: Even locals don't know there are 10 bookshops in the Blue Mountains. Starting with Blue Dragon Books in Glenbrook, each shop has its own specific genre. You can drink tea, join a zine-making session or hear local music as you browse at Good Earth Bookshop, Wentworth Falls. Nearby, Wyrdbooks focuses on science fiction, fantasy and horror, Katoomba's The Little Lost Bookshop has games, Mr Pickwick's Fine Old Books is part of an antiques and collectables store, and RoseyRavelston Books at Lawson is a social enterprise that gives half its profits to refugee charities.

3. BLUE MOUNTAINS BOTANIC GARDEN, MT TOMAH: Surrounded by World Heritage Area wilderness, the garden is a showcase of local and imported cool-climate plants and basalt cap forests. And it's free. There are secret garden areas, hidden plant displays, scenic mountain views to magical forests and weird plants from around the world. You'll see alien-like sapphire towers from the Andes, bogs with Venus flytraps, blousy rhododendrons and the largest rock garden in the southern hemisphere. There's even a "living fossil" - the famed Wollemi pine.

4. THE OTHER BLUE MOUNTAINS: Drive along the Bells Line of Road - up through the Hawkesbury or cut across the Darling Causeway at Mt Victoria - for bushwalks and lookouts; seasonal fruit, flower and nut picking at farms; quirky roadside shops; and spectacular colour gardens at Mt Wilson off the main route. There's also a whole new food flavour: the fig and walnut sourdough (add lashings of butter and honey) is a standout at Bilpin's The Grumpy Baker; Melange Bilpin serves honest yet elegant food; Schembrae's at Kurrajong has tasty Mediterranean dishes and go to Lochiel House at Kurrajong Heights for locally grown produce.

5. BUSHWALKS AND WATERFALLS: The Blue Mountains National Park Glenbrook entrance is just 60 minutes from Sydney CBD, and the little-known Yellow Rock Lookout abseiling spot between Springwood and Winmalee has views over the Nepean River, Western Sydney and the Cumberland Plain. Shaded by towering tree canopies, the Sassafras Gully Loop track between Springwood and Faulconbridge is teeming with wildlife, and the Faulconbridge Point Lookout fire trail ends at a 360-degree view. Further up at Lawson, there are pretty waterfalls along the Empire Pass walk on the north side of the highway and the South Lawson Waterfall Circuit.

6. NORMAN LINDSAY GALLERY: Norman Lindsay is famous these days for his classic The Magic Pudding children's stories - his etchings, cartoons, writings for grown-ups and explicit paintings,not so much. His talents are laid bare at his former home in a residential area surrounded by bush in the lower Mountains. There, you can explore his etching studio, see where Kate Fischer, Portia de Rossi and Elle Macpherson cavorted for the 1994 film Sirens, and wander the red room with the "blue" theme.

7. NIGHTLIFE: The Baroque Room (no kids allowed) with speakeasy feels is tucked along Katoomba's Carrington Hotel driveway. The Bootlegger Smokehouse & Bar is great for a low and slow catch-up or a lone drink with a side of acoustic tunes. But locals know to keep climbing the stairs to the rooftop bar. Trivia's on Thursday and live entertainment Friday and Saturday nights at The Family (aka Katoomba Family Hotel), and Side B Vinyl Bar in Blackheath is a record store most weekend days but a bar Thursday to Sunday night. At Mt Victoria, there are arthouse movies, and homemade choc-tops and hot soup at Mount Vic Flicks; laughter and fun at the Victoria & Albert Guesthouse bar; and live music and delicious Italian food on Friday night at Hotel Etico.

8. KATOOMBA FALLS NIGHT-LIT WALK: Stay out after dark to see the Mountains in a new light. The self-guided 1.5-kilometre Katoomba Falls Night-lit Walk gives you a nighttime perspective of natural features like Orphan Rock, Witches Leap, Katoomba Falls and Katoomba Cascades. The lights turn on at dusk and off at 11pm (floodlights off at 10.30pm).

10. CRAFT BEVERAGE TRAIL: The beverage revolution that's quietly bubbled away in the Blueys for years includes a trail of distillers; brewers; and cider, wine and non-alcoholic drink makers stretching up the Great Western Highway and down Bells Line of Road. The cideries of Bilpin and Katoomba's Mountain Culture Brewery brew pub are well known. But you can also find a frothy at Brew Mountains Brewery at the back of a bush outlook industrial estate at Valley Heights and sip a bev at the new The Factory Bar hangout space of Blue Mountains Gin Company just off the main tourist track.

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