Ruari Reid discovers that the Jenolan Caves, about two hours from Sydney, offer dark magic.

A visit to Jenolan Caves is a remarkable experience. It's like entering a dark underworld where any flicker of light creates dramatic shapes and shadows that beckon you to follow them into darkness. It is not to be missed.

Jenolan Caves are in the Blue Mountains, about two hours' drive from Sydney. The indigenous inhabitants of the area, the Gundungurra people, knew the caves as "dark places", and they are spoken of in their Dreamtime stories.

The first European settler to see their beauty was pastoralist James Whalan in 1838 but escaped convict James McKeon purportedly used the caves as a hideout before that. By the 1870s the caves had to be protected from souvenir hunters and in 1891 permanent electric lighting was installed in the popular visitor attraction. As the years progressed, more caves were discovered.

There's a self-guided audio tour of Grand Arch and the Devil's Coach House full of information about the origins and history of the caves. The Coach House cave is where, according to one explorer, the Devil can be heard driving his fiery horses through the cave - although the native sooty owls' screech is a more likely suspect.

The geology of the caves is not forgotten - a full description of dissolved carbon dioxide and limestone geology is included.

The guided tours of the caves are divided by different degrees of climbing difficulty and time factors taken into account. A reasonable degree of fitness and flexibility is required as all caves have low roof lines and many stairs to climb.

Some caves are not suitable for children. For those looking for an off-the-track experience, you can don a cave suit, helmet and headlamp and slither, slide and squeeze your way along underground rivers and in and out of cave openings.

The Diamond Cave tour visits a number of caverns, including the easiest to navigate - Imperial Cave. This cave has amazing formations: stalagmites, as high as the roof, stalactites, which clump from the ceiling, helictites, which go off in all directions, and shawl formations that sparkle and glow in the newly installed LED lighting.





There are fascinating shapes throughout the cave complex.





Most of the metal handrails, installed in the 1960s, have been replaced with stainless steel but some caves such as Ribbon Cave, still have sections with halogen bulb lights alongside LED.

Nearby accommodation options include Caves House or stays at Oberon, Lithgow or Katoomba. The country around the caves is worth exploring and the locals are engaging.

Jenolan Caves are amazing. That moment when all the lights are turned off, there is complete silence around you and you can't see your hand in front of your face is a truly startling moment.

It's a feeling that allows you to reflect on the efforts of those early cavers who used ropes and candles to bring such wonders of nature to our eyes.

For more, see jenolancaves.org.au