Uluru

Uluru rises 348 metres from the flat red sand of central Australia, about 9.4 km around its base. That makes it one of the most recognisable landforms on the continent. Geologists call it an inselberg: an isolated remnant that outlasted the rock around it because it has almost no joints or bedding partings for erosion to exploit. Its strata are tilted almost vertical, and much of the formation continues underground. The rock is arkose, a coarse sandstone rich in feldspar, laid down as an alluvial fan about 550 million years ago. It is grey inside, and the surface looks red because iron minerals in the outer layer have rusted. That coating is what glows at sunrise and sunset. During rare heavy rain, short-lived waterfalls pour down its flanks.

For the Aṉangu, the Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara people of the area, Uluru is not scenery but law. Its caves, waterholes and rock art are tied to Tjukurpa, the body of ancestral stories that governs land and conduct. Some sections of the rock are linked to ceremonies restricted to men or to women, and visitors are asked not to photograph them. European explorers reached the area in the 1870s. William Gosse named the rock Ayers Rock in 1873 after the Chief Secretary of South Australia. In 1993 it became the Northern Territory's first dual-named feature, and since 2002 the official order has been Uluru / Ayers Rock.

Tourism began in the 1930s, and for decades a chain helped visitors up a steep route to the summit, against the wishes of the traditional owners. The land was handed back to the Aṉangu in 1985 and leased back to the national parks agency for 99 years under joint management. In 2017 the park board voted unanimously to end the climb. The ban took effect on 26 October 2019 and the chain was removed. Today a visit is about walking around the base, the waterholes and rock art along it, dawn and dusk viewing areas, and ranger- or Aṉangu-led walks. Kata Tjuta, a cluster of conglomerate domes about 25 km west, is part of the same UNESCO-listed Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park.

Getting there

Uluru is in the south of the Northern Territory, about 335 km south-west of Alice Springs as the crow flies and considerably further by road. Visitors stay at Yulara, the resort town just outside the park, about 17 km from the rock by road. Ayers Rock Airport (AYQ) is about 19 km away. A park pass is required and is sold online through the park's official website.