Itineraries Home » New South Wales Itineraries » Sydney Itineraries » Magical Glow Worms In Birdwood Gully, Springwood
Birdwood Gully is an hour’s drive in the car west of Sydney in Springwood (provided below is the map to the location). We’d recommend you to park your car on the street somewhere near the Bednal Road & Lucinda Avenue intersection which is a residential area with no parking fee or time limit.
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Birdwood Gully Round Walk is an easy to medium grade 2.6km bushwalk that will take around 1 to 2 hours to complete however this post covers only the initial 450m of the walk starting from the Bednal Road & Lucinda Avenue intersection focusing only on visiting the glow worms in the night. We’ll explain more about the round walk itself in another post.
| Birdwood Gully Round Walk - Key Facts | |
|---|---|
| Trailhead | Bednal Road & Lucinda Avenue |
| Trail Type | Loop |
| Distance | 2.6km |
| Duration | 1 - 2 hours |
| Accumulated Elevation Gain | 68m |
| Difficulty | Grade 3 |
From the Bednal Road & Lucinda Avenue intersection, take the steep downhill and follow the trail.
A must for this trip is a torch (if possible, a red flashlight like the one here) as you will be walking in dark on a trail that is steep in many sections and with uneven stairs. We recommend you to visit the glow worms after rain if possible for an even more exciting rainforest-like ambiance. Make sure to put on your hiking shoes (or the one here) especially if you’re visiting after rain as the trail is very muddy and slippery. Packing a poncho would come handy as well, if you think it'd rain during your visit.
We timed our travel from home in such a way that we'd reach the place just before sunset so we could get an idea of the place before getting down in the dark as this was the first time we visited this place. This idea turned out to be really good as the trail was mostly uneven and steep.
We timed our travel from home in such a way that we'd reach the place just before sunset so we could get an idea of the place before getting down in the dark as this was the first time we visited this place. This idea turned out to be really good as the trail was mostly uneven and steep.
You will pass a small cave to your left after around 5 minutes and you will start hearing a waterfall after a further 5-minute walk. As said earlier, the trail is steep in many sections and with uneven stairs so take extra caution.
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As you go further on the trail, you will pass a small cave before you reach a bend in the track and this is the cave where you can see hundreds of glow worms.
We recommend you allow some time after turning off the lights as your eyes need to adjust to the dark upon when you will start seeing hundreds of glow worms. The longer you stay in the dark the more you will see them. Please do not direct light on the glow worms otherwise they will just go out and won’t glow again for some time. Always shine light directly onto the floor if you need to move around.
Overall, it was a magical moment to see hundreds of glow worms in the dark in a rainforest-like atmosphere and with a waterfall in the background.
Overall, it was a magical moment to see hundreds of glow worms in the dark in a rainforest-like atmosphere and with a waterfall in the background.
On our way back, we also spent a few minutes on the trail stargazing as it was pitch dark and there was no light pollution. We have also heard that there is another cave further down that also hosts a great number of glow worms but we didn’t get to see it as the trail further was too muddy and slippery to walk due to rain. Be careful about the trail edges throughout the walk as they were super slippery too.
On the way back home, we stopped at Mangoes Indian Cuisine & Cafe in Springwood for dinner. The food was delicious and the restaurant owner was very friendly. We'd recommend trying Mangoes Indian Cuisine if you're in Springwood.
On the way back home, we stopped at Mangoes Indian Cuisine & Cafe in Springwood for dinner. The food was delicious and the restaurant owner was very friendly. We'd recommend trying Mangoes Indian Cuisine if you're in Springwood.
Our Itinerary
1 - 1.5 hours prior to sunset (assuming departing from Sydney) |
Reach Bednal Road & Lucinda Avenue intersection and park your car on the street. |
1 - 1.5 hours |
Visit the glow worms in the dark and stargazing on the way back. |
5 minutes drive |
Reach Mangoes Indian Cuisine & Cafe and have dinner. Drive back home after dinner. |
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