Kanangra Falls: How to Visit This Hidden Kanangra-Boyd Waterfall

Kanangra Falls is an astonishing multi-tier 225 metre high waterfall tucked away in the Kanangra-Boyd National Park. Despite the magnificence of the waterfall, not many people visit it or even know about it. Most people going to the waterfall are actually canyoners and abseilers, who adventurously descend the waterfall. But, you don’t need to abseil down the waterfall to enjoy its beauty. You can simply follow the Kanangra Falls Access Track to enjoy views of the tremendous waterfall.

In this guide, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about visiting Kanangra Falls.

Kanangra Falls: An Overview

Kanangra Falls is one of the most spectacular waterfalls in New South Wales. The waterfall features multiple tiers totalling approx. 225 metres in height, with the main fall dropping around 150 metres.

Surprisingly, not many people visiting Kanangra-Boyd National Park know that this waterfall even exists. Most people heading to the national park are there to see the similarly named Kanangra Walls, which is an epic sandstone cliff line. Near the Kanangra Walls, there is a more well-known waterfall called Kalang Falls. Confusingly, NSW National Parks have called the walk to Kalang Falls – the Kanangra Waterfall Walk.

Just to be clear, the Kanangra Waterfall Walk goes to the base of Kalang Falls and the Kanangra Falls Access Track goes to the top of Kanangra Falls.

In this guide, we’re going to talk about the Kanangra Falls Access Track. Along this track, you’ll enjoy views of Kanangra Falls (albeit from a far distance) before reaching the top of it.

Where Is Kanangra Falls?

The waterfall is well-concealed in Kanangra-Boyd National Park, which falls in the Greater Blue Mountains Area. To help get your bearings, please click on the image below to access an interactive map, showing the location of the waterfall.

Kanangra Falls Access Track: Details

• Type: Out & Back
• Distance: 4km
• Time: 1.5–2 hours
• Accumulated elevation gain: 200 metres
• Difficulty: Hard
• Trailhead: Kanangra Walls Road
• Map: AllTrails

The Kanangra Falls Access Track is also known as the Kanangra Main Canyon Access Track. That’s because the waterfall is the main route taken by canyoners and abseilers to descend into Kanangra Canyon. This descent is referred to as Kanangra Main. Canoyners and abseilers will use this walking track to get to the top of Kanangra Falls to complete Kanangra Main.

Overall, the return walk is relatively short in distance. But, it’s by no means an easy walk. This is mostly because trail navigation can be difficult. During the first half of the walk, the track is faint but clearly defined. But, during the second half of the walk, especially as you approach the top of the falls, the trail becomes overgrown and the terrain is steeper and more technically challenging and physically demanding.

That’s why, there is an option to just complete the walk to the first point where you see the waterfall (see the map below). Up until this point of the walk, the track is fairly well-defined. Beyond this point, the trail is much fainter and much more challenging. So, it’s up to you whether you complete the whole track to the top of the falls or just to the viewpoint.

Bear in mind, that there is no official or named viewpoint nor is the walk marked, signposted or promoted by NSW National Parks. This walk is certainly off the beaten track. So, in reality, only people with a decent level of bushwalking experience should do this walk.

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Visiting Kanangra Falls: Our Experience

Below, we’ll tell you more about the Kanangra Falls hike and our experience doing it. Overall, Beck and I enjoyed doing this adventurous yet challenging track to explore this lesser-known waterfall.

Where to Start: Kanangra Walls Road

The Kanangra Falls Access Track commences from Kanangra Walls Road. Essentially, you’ll find the faint and unmarked trailhead around 600 metres down the road from the Kanangra Walls Car Park.

Nearly opposite the trailhead, on the other side of the road, there is a small roadside layby with enough space for perhaps two vehicles. We parked the car at the layby to commence the walk. Having visited mid-week, we encountered no one else on the track. Funnily enough, when we visited, the trail was marked by a red ‘P’ plate.

Kanangra Falls Access Track

From Kanangra Falls Road, you’ll follow a faint trail towards Kanangra Brook. You’ll briefly pass through a more dense area of trees before the open trail reaches the stream of the brook. Crossing the narrow stream is straightforward. The trail then veers to the right passing to the right of Kittani Top. As you near the cliff line (Kittani Rim), you’ll reach a fork in the track. Turn left to continue along the access track.

Once you’ve turned left, the trail remains well-defined for another 200 metres or so. Soon enough, the trail becomes vague. At this point, there is a gully, that you’ll steeply descend and ascend to continue along the track, which continues to run alongside Kittani Rim. After climbing out of the gully, the track soon bends sharply to the left. At this point, you’ll catch your first glimpse of the waterfall.

Kanangra Falls Views

So, it’s roughly at the 1.2km mark, where you’ll first see the immense Kanangra Falls in the distance. Admittedly, your views will mostly be obscured by the foliage. But, you’ll catch a decent glimpse of the incredible multi-tier waterfall through the bushland.

At this point of the walk, there are several vantage points, in close proximity, which afford impeded views of the waterfall. These viewpoints are close to the edge of the cliff line where there are lots of loose rocks. Be careful around this point of the walk as the track nearing the edge of Kittani Rim is inherently quite unstable.

As mentioned, at this point of the walk, the track to the top of the falls becomes increasingly vague and overgrown. After seeing views of the waterfall, feel free to retrace your steps to complete the walk. Otherwise, continue along the track to get to the top of the waterfall.

Top of Kanangra Falls

Continuing from the initial viewpoints, the trail is far less defined. You can just about make out a trail, but it’s mostly overgrown. For sure, in most parts, it’s a bushbash. Eventually, the trail descends towards the top of the waterfall. The track leads to a point, where the top of the falls will be to your left. You’ll be able to see a small cascade waterfall before it flows over the edge of a rock platform.

Admittedly, from the top of the falls, you won’t actually see much of the waterfall. With the tedious bush bash in mind, we question whether it’s even worth accessing the top of the falls. But, it’s an adventure at the very least to get to the top of the falls. From there, you’ll simply retrace your steps to complete the walk.

Other Waterfalls Near Kanangra Falls

Other than chasing Kanangra Falls, there are other walks to do in Kanangra-Boyd National Park to see other waterfalls. The two other waterfalls in the national park are Kalang Falls and Morong Falls.

Kalang Falls

Kalang Falls is the most well-known waterfall in Kanangra-Boyd National Park. As mentioned, to reach Kalang Falls, you can do the Kanangra Waterfall Walk from the Kanangra Walls Car Park. During this walk, you’ll pass Kanangra Walls Lookout (AKA Kanangra Boyd Lookout), before descending a stepped trail to reach a wooden viewing platform, where you can see Kalang Falls – a quaint cascade waterfall.

Morong Falls

Morong Falls is a lesser-known cascade waterfall than Kalang Falls. Yet, more people are aware of and visit Morong Falls compared with Kanangra Falls. By following the Morong Falls Walking Track, you can reach this beautiful hidden cascade waterfall. Undoubtedly, Morong Falls is one of the best wild swimming spots in Kanangra-Boyd National Park.

Other Attractions Near Kanangra Falls

Kanangra-Boyd National Park is most famous for the Kanangra Walls rather than Kanangra Falls. Below, we’ll cover some details about Kanangra Walls and another nearby attraction called Dance Floor Cave.

Kanangra Walls

The Kanangra Walls are a seriously impressive sandstone cliff line that towers above Kanangra Creek, which lies hidden along the forest-covered floor of Kanangra Canyon. Undoubtedly, Kanangra Walls are a star attraction of Kanangra-Boyd National Park. You can enjoy outstanding views of Kanangra Walls from the Kanangra Walls Lookout. Otherwise, you can do the Kanangra Plateau Walk to get to that famous photo spot!

Read more: Kanangra Walls Lookout vs Kanangra Plateau Lookout – Insider Tips

Dance Floor Cave

Along the Kanangra Plateau Walk, you’ll pass by a historical cave called Dance Floor Cave. This isn’t just a huge mesmerising cave with an unusual name. In 1891, a dance platform was built in the cave!

So, why was a dance floor built in a cave? Well, the cave was centrally located along the Oberon-Colong stock route, which farmers used to run their cattle and sheep from Oberon to the Burragorang Valley. Dance Floor Cave was a social space where farmers, travellers and settlers would get together.

Unfortunately, since the dance floor was made of timber, it’s since rotten or been used for campfires. Nevertheless, the epic cave is still worth exploring even without a dance floor!

How to Get to Kanangra-Boyd National Park

The only way to get to Kanangra-Boyd National Park is to drive there. There is no public transport going to this remote area of the Greater Blue Mountains.

From Sydney, it’s around a 3.5 hour drive to get to Kanangra-Boyd National Park. Bear in mind, that Jenolan Caves Road has been closed for some time due to landslides. This means you may have to use a longer route, via Duckmaloi, to get to Kanangra-Boyd National Park.

Also, to reach the trailhead for the Kanangra Falls Access Track as well as to reach the Kanangra Walls Car Park, you’ll need to drive approx. 28km along the unsealed Kanangra Walls Road. The road is 2WD accessible. Personally, Beck and I managed fine with a 2WD along Kanangra Walls Road. Of course, the drive will be much quicker in a 4WD.

To find out more about renting a car with Discover Cars, read our Discover Cars review and Discover Cars Insurance review.

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Hiking Gear For the Blue Mountains

Below, you’ll find some of the hiking gear that we use when walking in the Greater Blue Mountains area.

To find out more about all of the gear that we use and recommend, read our guides about our favourite hiking gear, travel gear and camera gear. Otherwise, read our comprehensive travel packing checklist.

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We acknowledge and respect the First Nations people as the Traditional Custodians of the land/water that we visited and recognise that sovereignty was never ceded.