Pretty high. A picture on Instagram made the viewpoint famous.Image: www.imago-images.de
Social media is changing the way we travel. An unknown place can turn into a crowded one because of a viral post. An example is Lincoln’s Rock in Australia.
02/13/2026, 06:0902/13/2026, 06:09
Annika Danielmeier / watson.de
Going to Australia after school – that’s the plan for many people if they’ve worked for years towards their qualification and want to delay the start of their training or professional life a little longer. But Down Under is also a popular travel destination far away from young backpackers. And once you’ve taken the flight, you also want to see the most popular places.
But the hype surrounding certain spots, fueled by social media, does not only bring advantages. A current example of this is Lincoln’s Rock in the Blue Mountains, which has developed from a quiet insider tip into a crowded hotspot.
Singer’s Instagram photo sparks hype
Lincoln’s Rock has long been a quiet place, but things have changed since a photo of K-pop singer Jennie Kim of Blackpink went viral. The photo Jennie shared on Instagram in 2023 showed her sitting on the edge of the cliff with her legs dangling over the precipice:
A holiday post like you see a lot on the platform. However, the singer’s photo created a real hype about the Australian location; he got millions of likes. The post was temporarily deactivated. But too late: Hundreds, sometimes thousands, of visitors flock to Lincoln’s Rock every day to recreate the famous image.
“You’re not there to enjoy the view. They’re just there to have their picture taken in this place,” says Graham Reibelt, who has lived in the Blue Mountains for 45 years and runs the local tourism website Ask Roz CNN.
The sudden popularity has pushed the small lookout point to its limits. The infrastructure is not designed for such mass tourism: the access road is narrow and there are just 16 parking spaces.
Location temporarily closes access to the viewpoint
The Blue Mountains City Council was forced to temporarily close access to the lookout last month until a long-term solution was found. A decision that has led to a debate among residents, nature conservationists and companies that rely on tourism.
Annette Cam from the Blue Mountains Conservation Society supports the council’s decision. She explains that plants grow there that are an important food source for cockatoos, but that if there are too many people, they will avoid the place.
However, the local economy will feel the impact of the closure in an unpleasant way, as customers will also stay away. “Most of the businesses in this city rely on tourism,” emphasizes Christina Doyle, who runs a coffee truck nearby.
Lincoln’s Rock isn’t the only place overrun by photos on social media. Measures to limit the rush have already been taken in other cities, for example through entrance fees like on Trevi Fountain in Rome. Various options are being discussed in Lincoln’s Rock; the closure of dangerous sections, limited access times and a daily cap on visitors.