Katoomba Total Solar Eclipse 2028

Katoomba's key decision: Blue Mountains setting or lower-ground resilience?

Katoomba offers elevated scenery but also commits you to escarpment terrain. Pair any mountains site with a realistic lower-ground alternative and decide early enough that the Great Western Highway is not the plan itself.

• Every measured Katoomba site has the 30-degree Sun clear by at least 19 degrees.
• Expect crowds at Echo Point; the showground and Wentworth Falls Lake have more room.
• If cloud sits on the ridge, take the train down to Penrith for slightly longer totality.

Eclipse times in Katoomba

First contact

12:38 p.m. AEST

Maximum

2:00 p.m. AEST

End

3:13 p.m. AEST

Totality

3 minutes, 30 seconds

Magnitude

1.015

In UTC on 22 July 2028: first contact 02:38, maximum 04:00, eclipse ends 05:13. Add to calendar (.ics)

Katoomba in the path of totality

Katoomba gets about 3 minutes 30 seconds of totality at the town centre, with the Sun about 30 degrees up in the north-northwest. Duration rises as you move east down the mountains: Wentworth Falls Lake gets about 3 minutes 34 seconds; Penrith, at the foot of the range, about 3 minutes 45.

What you will see in the dark sky

During totality the sky over Katoomba darkens to deep twilight. Look for Mercury, 26 degrees up in the north-northwest, only 4 degrees from the eclipsed Sun; Jupiter, 46 degrees up in the northeast. From Katoomba the brightest stars likely to show are Sirius (west), Canopus (southwest), Alpha Centauri (southeast), Arcturus (east-northeast). From Katoomba, Venus is very low in the west-northwest, under 5 degrees up, too low to count on.

Positions for Katoomba at 04:00:10 UTC, from JPL's DE421 ephemeris, listing objects brighter than magnitude +1 and at least 5 degrees up.

What makes Katoomba distinctive for the 2028 eclipse?

Katoomba is a Blue Mountains base near Echo Point, the Three Sisters and other escarpment lookouts. The local visitor service identifies these places as lookouts, but a valley view is not proof that the Sun will clear the skyline from the position where you stand. Check the precise sightline, current access and weather before committing. Source.

4 Katoomba viewing sites, measured

The cliffs here are below you, not in front of the Sun. The terrain model gives Katoomba Showground a 0.5-degree horizon toward the Sun, and Cahill's Lookout and Wentworth Falls Lake about 3 degrees. Echo Point has the highest, 10.7 degrees, because it faces into the Jamison Valley with the town's ridge behind it, but that still leaves the 30-degree Sun about 19 degrees clear. Expect the bigger problems to be crowds at Echo Point and frost on shaded paths.

Each chart traces Katoomba's terrain 30° either side of azimuth 329°, where the Sun stands at maximum; it shows hills, not trees or buildings (how the sites were measured).

• Echo Point

  The Three Sisters lookout, with a visitor centre, toilets and the area's heaviest crowds. The measured horizon toward the Sun is 10.7 degrees, the highest of the Katoomba sites, leaving about 19 degrees clear. Facilities and access.

• Cahill's Lookout, Boars Head

  A cliff-top lookout on Cliff Drive west of the town centre. The measured horizon toward the Sun is 3.2 degrees. Facilities and access.

• Katoomba Showground

  An open council-managed showground on the town's high ground, with a 0.5-degree measured horizon, the lowest of the Katoomba sites. Ask Blue Mountains City Council whether it will be open to the public. Facilities and access.

• Wentworth Falls Lake

  A district park with picnic and barbecue facilities and accessible paths, 6 km east of Katoomba. The measured horizon is 2.9 degrees and totality is about four seconds longer than in Katoomba. Facilities and access.

July weather in Katoomba: the station record

The long-term July record at Katoomba (Farnells Rd) shows 8.0 clear days, 4.3 eighths of the sky clouded at 3 p.m., 7.3 days with at least 1 mm of rain and a mean 3 p.m. temperature of 8.0°C.

Katoomba (Farnells Road) sits at about 1,017 m on the upper Blue Mountains. Sources: Katoomba (Farnells Rd), whose averages describe past Julys rather than the sky on 22 July 2028.

If cloud threatens Katoomba: drop below the escarpment

If cloud is sitting on the ridge, which is common in winter, go down. The Blue Mountains Line reaches Penrith in about an hour, and Penrith gets about 15 seconds more totality. Make the decision by mid-morning; the Great Western Highway eastbound will fill with others doing the same.

Eclipse day in Katoomba

Avoid the Echo Point crowds unless the Three Sisters backdrop is the point of your trip. The showground and Wentworth Falls Lake give the same eclipse with more room. Arrive by train if you can, be settled before first contact at 12:38 p.m., and expect totality at about 2:00 p.m.

Getting to Katoomba

Katoomba is about two hours from Central by train on the Blue Mountains Line, and about 1 hour 45 minutes by road. Parking at Echo Point is already scarce on winter weekends. Stay overnight in the mountains if you want to be at a lookout early.

Who Katoomba suits

Katoomba suits viewers who want totality over dramatic country and accept crowds, cold and mountain cloud as the price. Landscape photographers will want it. It does not suit anyone who needs easy parking or a low-risk plan: Penrith, an hour down the same rail line, gets slightly longer totality.

Safety in Katoomba

Katoomba adds cliff edges to the usual eclipse cautions: totality brings near-darkness to lookouts where crowds will be pressed against fences above long drops, so keep children in hand and stay behind barriers as the light fails. Ice on shaded paths and the cold at 1,000 metres deserve equal respect. See the eye safety guide.

Questions about Katoomba

Further reading

• Inland NSW road trip
• First-timer's eclipse plan
• Eclipse weather strategy
• Build your eclipse-day plan — build a printable plan for Katoomba's terrain and access constraints.

Nearby city guides

Compare Penrith, Bathurst, Sydney, or browse all city guides.

• Penrith
• Bathurst
• Sydney

Sources

Katoomba's eclipse times are calculated from NASA GSFC Besselian elements (path table) and compared with Timeanddate for Katoomba. The Katoomba site horizons use the terrain model behind the visibility map, with coordinates from OpenStreetMap. Durations are approximate and depend on coordinates and the prediction model; calculate the exact site and compare an independent source.

• NSW National Parks: Blue Mountains National Park
• Blue Mountains City Council
• Transport for NSW: getting around NSW