Australia: Uluru not just any rock

Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock, is more than just a rock!

Getting there

The nearest large town is Alice Springs, some 450km and 4 1/2 hours drive away. You can base yourself there and do a day trip there and back, either using your own transport or utilise a tour company and let them do the driving for you. We chose the latter as it was a more relaxed way to travel.

The other way is to incorporate the visit into your itinerary heading south. There are a few places you can stay, either within the park or just outside.

About Uluru

Uluru is a massive sandstone monolith in the heart of the Northern Territory’s arid ‘Red Centre’.  It is s acred to indigenous Australians, thought to have started forming around 550 million years ago.

Located within Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, you will also find the 36 red-rock domes of the Kata Tjuta (colloquially “The Olgas”) formation.

Approaching Uluru, the one thing that stands out, aside from it’s sheer size rising out of the ground, is its varied red colours.  More so at sunset. Walking around its circumference takes around 3 1/2 hours which is a must if you have the time. It is only then when you look up, that you can see the various rock formations and its sheer beauty.

Approximately 15 minutes away, are the 36 red-rock domes of the Kata Tjuta (“The Olgas”) formation – another beautiful area in its own right.

Uluru is a living cultural landscape. It’s considered sacred to the Yankunytjatjara and Pitjantjatjara people. The spirits of the ancestral beings continue to reside in these sacred places making the land a deeply important part of Aboriginal cultural identity.

Onwards and upwards!

Trevor

Insights

• Elevation is 863m, and the circumference is 10km.
• Uluru is the name in a local Aboriginal language (Arrente), and since the 1980s has been the officially preferred name.

• Many people, especially non-Australians, still call it Ayers Rock.
• It’s considered to be the world’s largest monolith. A monolith is a large, single block of stone.
• This is also an Aboriginal sacred site and Australia’s most famous natural landmark.

• The oxidized iron in the sandstone gives the rock its rusty-red colour.
• Note: Climbing the sacred site has now been banned (since 26 October, 2019). Prior to this it was discouraged in order to respect the local culture. However many people still climbed the rock which can be dangerous to do. Since record-keeping began, there have been 37 fatalities. On the last day it was open there were queues of people waiting to climb for the last time.