Red Hands Cave
Glenbrook area in Blue Mountains National Park
Overview
Red Hands Cave in Blue Mountains National Park is one of the best showcases of Aboriginal rock art in the area. It's reached via Red Hands Cave loop walking track.
- Type
- Aboriginal sites
- Accessibility
- No wheelchair access
- Entry fees
- Park entry fees apply
- Opening times
If you’re driving into the Glenbrook area, the gates are open:
- First Sunday in October to first Sunday in April 8.30am to 7pm
- Rest of year 8.30am to 6pm
- What to
bring - Drinking water, hat, sunscreen
- Please note
- Red Hands Cave is reached via the 8km loop Red Hands Cave walking track, which starts at the causeway near the park entrance.
- You can also drive around 13km past the park entrance, along the unsealed Oaks trail and Red Hands trail, to Red Hands Cave carpark, for a 1km return walk.
- Please respect this precious site and help protect it by not touching the art and avoiding flash photography.
Accessed along Red Hands Cave walking track, near Glenbrook, Red Hands Cave will mesmerise you with its layers of hand prints and stencils; one of the best examples of Aboriginal art in the Blue Mountains.
Although it’s thought to have been painted between 500 and 1600 years ago, you can still see the vibrant, earthy colours of red, yellow and white, which combine to make an overwhelming collage. Standing in front of this art is a highly emotive experience, and it’s impossible not to be transported back hundreds of years.
Amongst several techniques, the artists would chew a mixture of ochre and water, and then blow it over a hand resting on the wall, forming a stencil.
Whilst walking along the tranquil Red Hands Cave track to the cave, make sure you keep an eye out for the Aboriginal axe grinding grooves in the rocks beside Camp Fire Creek.
Also see
-
Red Hands Cave walking track - Blue Mountains National Park
Red Hands Cave walking track, in Blue Mountains National Park, offers impressive Aboriginal stencil art with picnicking and birdwatching, near Glenbrook.
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Park info
- in the Glenbrook area of Blue Mountains National Park in the Sydney and surrounds region
- From the first Sunday in October to the first Sunday in April: park gates are open 8.30am to 7pm.
- Rest of the year: park gates are open 8.30am to 6pm.
-
$8 per vehicle per day applies at the Bruce Road entrance to the Glenbrook area. You can also pay for your visit via the Park’nPay app.
Buy annual pass
What's nearby:
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