Lincoln’s Rock has long been one of the Blue Mountains’ tranquil sunset spots, a rocky overhang overlooking a eucalyptus valley outside Sydney. But in recent years, the once sleepy Australian warden has found himself at the center of a global social media storm.
Local officials say the surge in visitors chasing a viral photo has transformed the place almost overnight, raising crowds, safety concerns and environmental concerns in areas that cannot accommodate large numbers of tourists.
Matters came to a head in 2023 when K-pop star Jenny Kim of Blackpink shared an image of herself sitting with her feet dangling over the edge of a cliff. The post received millions of likes and was later deleted, but not before copies were widely disseminated to other international platforms.
“They’re not there to enjoy the scenery,” Graham Leibert, who has lived in the Blue Mountains for 45 years and runs a local tourism website called Ask Roz, told CNN. “They’re just there to take pictures here.”
Since then, the number of tourists has skyrocketed, with long lines forming daily as tourists line up to recreate the same photo, locals say. At peak times, the observation deck attracts thousands of people a day, overwhelming the narrow access roads and limited parking.
Concerned about safety risks and environmental damage, Blue Mountains City Council temporarily closed access to the rock last month while authorities worked on long-term plans. The decision sparked debate among residents, conservationists and local businesses dependent on tourism.
The Blue Mountains are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and are made up of eight protected areas, making it one of Australia’s largest areas of protected bushland. More than that, it represents at least 22,000 years of Indigenous history.
“The Blue Mountains have never really been harmed by development,” says David King, a Gundangula man who teaches visitors about the history and culture of the region that has been home to their ancestors for thousands of years. “It’s mostly untouched land. It’s a very spiritual place for me, so I go there at least three times a week.”
One of Australia’s rarest birds, the Glossy Black Parrot, also lives in the mountains. According to the World Wildlife Fund, fewer than 8,000 of these birds remain in Australia.
Annette Kam, president of the Blue Mountains Conservation Society, said low-lying vegetation is the parrot’s main food source, but if there are too many people, the parrots will avoid the area.
Kamm wrote a letter to the City Council expressing support for the closure. She said Lincoln’s Rock should not reopen until “adequate arrangements are in place to properly manage visitor numbers”.
While the larger Blue Mountains region would be better able to handle the surge in tourists, many visitors focus their time solely on Lincoln Rock.
To reach the site, vehicles must negotiate a narrow two-lane road and secure one of only 16 parking spaces.
“We have never promoted Lincoln’s Rock as a tourist destination,” Leibert said. “We always wanted people to come back because if they lack amenities or the parking is shocking, they end up having a bad experience.”
Kei Yan, 25, from Shenzhen, China, said she visited the observatory with her sister last July.
She said the trip was sparked by her sister’s desire to recreate a photo of the K-pop idol she saw being reshared on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu (also known as Red Note).
“We just went to take pictures and then left,” Yang said. She confirmed that she and her sister were not part of a tour group and had not visited other parts of the Blue Mountains.
Yang said the crowd itself was manageable, but the sheer edge of the cliff made him nervous.
“I was actually a little scared,” she said. “There’s no protection, and when you look down there’s a cliff.”
“I think people should have basic respect for nature when they travel,” Yang added. “The key is to follow basic manners.”
Not all locals think the tourist crowds at Lincoln’s Rock are a bad thing. Christina Doyle, who opened a small coffee cart outside her home near the site, said she welcomed guests from all over the world, many of whom wanted to take “a photo of Jenny.”
Ms Doyle said the closure of the observatory had reduced the number of customers at Christina’s Cafe to three or four per day, resulting in a loss of profit margins.
She understands why some locals aren’t happy about the influx of tourists, but says a balance needs to be struck.
“This is known as a tourist destination,” Doyle said. “Most businesses in this city thrive on tourism.”
The community is currently considering a range of options, from fencing off the most dangerous areas to introducing timed entry and daily visitor limits, to find ways to protect the site without compromising its attractiveness.
Meanwhile, Lincoln’s Rock is now on the list of global tourist destinations on the front lines in the fight against overtourism, with debate raging over how to welcome the global audiences drawn to it by its viral fame while preserving the very landscape that made its image so appealing in the first place.
Recently, the Trevi Fountain in Rome started charging $2 per person.
In Japan, tourists flocking to a small town at the base of Mount Fuji to recreate a viral photo caused so much trouble that the local government decided to erect a black cloth fence to temporarily block the famous view.
For residents like Christina Doyle, the goal is not to shut out visitors completely, but to find a balance between access and protection.
“I just hope that when the work is done it will remain unfenced and not look too industrial,” she says.
