Glow Worm Tunnel

The Glow Worms are located in an old rail tunnel 387 metres in length. Situated in the Wollemi National Park, close to Lithgow, the tunnel was originally constructed as part of the railway line to Newnes Kerosene Shale Works. The line was dismantled around the 1940s.

The tunnel can be accessed from the Newnes Plateau (about 35 kilometres from Lithgow). Good walking shoes and a red-light torch are required for the walk through the tunnel.

The glow worms found in the tunnel are the larvae of the fungus gnat. The blue glow of the larvae is the result of a chemical reaction in the body of the glowworm. The larvaes' glow lures their prey, such as mosquitoes, closer to them.