Adelaide Hills

For visitors, the experience is breathtaking as these low-lying hills go from rolling farmland and natural bushland to sweeping vineyards, cherry farms and apple orchards. Then every few minutes, there's a town that offers a history lesson, photo opportunity, coffee or tea break, wine tasting and world-class dining and accommodation. The Adelaide Hills rise only 700 metres at the highest point. What they lack in height, though, they more than make up for in depth. They start just over five kilometres from the Adelaide CBD but take in more than 1000 square kilometres making them ideal for a quick visit, a Devonshire tea, a drive to a local winery for lunch or an entire week lost in pristine valleys with access to busy country towns and tiny villages that have barely changed in more than 150 years. From Hahndorf which seamlessly blends tourism and culture to the restaurants and art of Stirling, the thriving rural centre of Mount Barker and dozens of townships established in the mid 1800s, the Adelaide Hills has a built heritage and lifestyle that matches its natural beauty.