Blue Mountains

It’s not all log fires, hearty country cuisine and bracing bushwalks – there’s sleek sophistication here, too. Stay

The Blue Mountains region is about two things – the great outdoors and the cosy indoors.

Spicers Sangoma Retreat (hotel. qantas.com.au/spicerssangoma) at Bowen Mountain in the foothills of the range is your choice for the latter, with adults-only bush suites that are the pinnacle of comfort.

Eat

The Sonoma sourdough and Proud Mary Coffee make Dbl

Ristretto (212 Macquarie Road, 0490 133 059) in Springwood the pick of the brunch places at the mountains' midway point. Or for locally sourced, Asianinspired creativity served in a stylishly renovated 19th-century cottage, lunch or dinner at

Lochiel House (lochielhouse. com.au) is always memorable.

Drink

At the northern end of the area, bushfires forced Bilpin’s New

Apple Bar (2488 Bells Line of Road; 0466 158 814) to close repeatedly over the summer but this neighbourhood favourite is back stronger than ever. Stop by for a locally brewed Hillbilly cider and woodfired pizzas.

Play

Visitors generally flock to the Three Sisters and Govetts Leap lookouts but for something a little more rugged, lace up your hiking boots and walk the eight-kilometre loop from Glenbrook to the

Red Hands Cave, site of some of the most striking Indigenous art in the area. Or grab a basket and pick some fruit to take home – family-run Shields Orchard (shieldsorchard.com) in Bilpin boasts the crispest Granny Smith apples in the mountains.