Visit Red Hands Cave in the Blue Mountains National Park

Red Hands Cave in Blue Mountains National Park is one of the best examples of Aboriginal rock art in this part of Sydney.

Located in the Glenbrook area of the Blue Mountains National Park, Red Hands Cave can be reached via the 8km Red Hands Cave loop walking track which starts at the causeway near the park entrance.

The cave can also be accessed by driving around 13km past the park entrance (it takes around 30-40 minutes), along the unsealed Oaks trail and Red Hands trail, to Red Hands Cave carpark, for a 1km return walk.

Red Hands Cave features thousands of layered hand prints and stencils, thought to have been painted between 500 and 1600 years ago. The vibrant colours of red, yellow and white are still highly visible, creating a stunning collage inside the cave.

Indigenous artists would have created these stencils though several techniques including chewing a mixture of ochre and water, and then blowing it over a hand resting on the wall, forming a stencil.

Aboriginal axe grinding grooves can also be spotted in the rocks beside Camp Fire Creek, in the walk to the cave.

Red Hands Cave has a protective grate in front of it, however the art is still easily visible through the holes. Photos are allowed, however please don’t use a flash as that can damage the art work.