For decades it’s been a favourite outback holiday location for South Australians, but Ikara-Flinders Ranges is now in the global spotlight after being named on this year’s Lonely Planet Best in Travel list.
The mountain range was the only Australian location to make the prestigious list (external site), joining iconic travel hotspots like Cadiz in Spain, Reunion Island, Botswana and the Italian island of Sardinia.
Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel list names the top 25 destinations and top 25 experiences for the year ahead and includes local advice and essential experiences.
The international listing adds to the state's recent accolades including Adelaide being named the #1 Best Place to Travel in 2026 by yahoo!creators and South Australia crowned Best Event State at the 2025 Australian Event Awards.
Ikara-Flinders Ranges has long attracted travellers for its dramatic outback scenery, rich Aboriginal cultural her
itage, and ancient geological wonders, being home to one of the world’s most significant fossil sites holding the earliest evidence of complex life on earth.
Lonely Planet’s senior director of trade sales and marketing Chris Zeiher said he was "ecstatic to see the epic Ikara-Flinders Ranges and wider South Australian outback on our prestigious list, it's one of the world's most breathtaking environments perfectly primed for the world to discover in 2026".
"Each entry in Best in Travel 2026 reflects a personal experience from Lonely Planet’s vast community of staff, contributors from around the world, publishing partners and more."
For Ross Fargher, co-owner of Parachilna’s Prairie Hotel (pictured), the Lonely Planet listing is simply confirmation that the ranges are a truly great global travel location.
"I have always felt it imperative to share my passion for the Ikara-Flinders Ranges, both locally and internationally," Mr Fargher said.
"My family came to the Flinders Ranges in the 1860s. The experiences, recollections, relationships and multi-generational stories of the Fargher family create a memorable journey of 550 million years from the dawn of animal life, through Aboriginal custodianship and pastoral heritage to the protection of country for all time."
See Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel list for 2026 at lonelyplanet.com/best-in-travel (external site).
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