SA rail journey deemed one of world’s most beautiful, with host of incredible features

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Images via Journey Beyond

One of South Australia’s most iconic travel experiences has just earned global recognition, with The Ghan named among the world’s most beautiful train journeys in the world.

While international routes through Japan, Switzerland and Scotland filled the upper end of the ranking, The Ghan stood out as one of only two Australian journeys to make the list. It ranked alongside some of the most famous rail experiences in the world. The study was compiled by InsureandGo using eye-tracking research to measure which train landscapes grabbed attention fastest and held it the longest.

The study found The Ghan achieved an eye-catching score of 73.3, placing it in the global top 15. The other Australian entry was Queensland’s Kuranda Scenic Railway.

For South Australians, The Ghan’s inclusion is a reminder of just how extraordinary the journey really is but for those who haven’t been laid witness to the journey, what does it actually entail?

Executive General Manager Journey Beyond Rail, David Donald said most first‑time passengers are surprised by just how much The Ghan feels like a moving hotel rather than a train.

“While many expect the journey to be all about covering vast distances, what truly catches people off guard is the restaurant‑quality dining, all‑inclusive service, and the relaxed social atmosphere especially in the lounge carriage, where conversations flow easily as the drinks and friendships are often formed for life.”

Departing from Adelaide and travelling through the heart of the country, the route offers a front-row seat to some of Australia’s most striking and remote scenery, from vast ochre plains and rugged outback landscapes to the changing colours of the red centre.

“What also surprises many is that the experience extends well beyond the carriage windows,” he said.

Off train excursions allow guests to get right into the thick of things, rather that watch it all just roll on by. This could mean cruising through the Nitmiluk Gorge in Katherine on The Ghan, or getting off-train to watch the sunrise in Manguri.

For anyone who has ever watched the South Australian landscape roll by from the window of The Ghan, the recognition will come as no surprise.

David said one of the moments on the trip that usually stop people in their tracks (excuse the pun) is the dinner beneath a blanket of stars at the Telegraph Station.

“Guests arrive to an unforgettable outback scene, taking in the rich history of the station from  the rhythmic clang of a local blacksmith at work, and the glow of lanterns against the red earth.

“As night falls, a beautifully curated dinner is served under one of the clearest night skies many city travellers have ever seen, prompting cameras to come out as constellations appear in vivid detail.”

And by the end of the night most guests are up dancing barefoot on the red dirt to a live band, he said.

“There are countless small, thoughtful details onboard that guests often don’t realise are happening around them.”

Named after the Afghan cameleers who helped open up Australia’s centre more than 150 years ago, The Ghan has a history deeply tied to South Australia.

Its story stretches back to the first camels arriving at Port Adelaide in 1839, before cameleers went on to transport goods, mail and supplies through some of the country’s harshest terrain. Rail construction between Port Augusta and Alice Springs began in 1877, and in 1929 The Ghan departed Adelaide for the first time.

After decades of servicing remote communities, supporting wartime transport and helping drive inland industries, the long-held vision of a full Adelaide to Darwin rail link was finally realised in 2004.

Today, The Ghan’s 2,979-kilometre journey remains one of the country’s most iconic travel experiences, carrying passengers from the South Australian plains through the Red Centre and up to the tropical Top End.

For more information on the study, click here.