Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park

Interesting facts

Mount Olga, the highest dome of Kata Tjuṯa, rises about 546 metres above the plain, nearly 200 metres higher than Uluṟu.

The explorer Ernest Giles named Mount Olga in 1872 at the request of the botanist Ferdinand von Mueller, honouring Queen Olga of Württemberg, who had just made Mueller a baron.

The surveyor William Gosse sighted Uluṟu on 19 July 1873 and named it Ayers Rock after Henry Ayers, then Chief Secretary of South Australia.

In 1993 Uluṟu became the first officially dual-named feature in the Northern Territory, and in 2002 the order was reversed to put the Aboriginal name first.

Uluṟu's rock layers stand almost on end, tilted at about 85 degrees, with an exposed thickness of at least 2,400 metres continuing below the plain.

Freshly broken, the rock of Uluṟu and Kata Tjuṯa is grey; the famous red is only a thin weathered skin of rusted iron-bearing minerals.

The sand that became Uluṟu was shed by mountains rising to the south roughly 550 to 530 million years ago and later tilted upright by further mountain building.

Aṉangu divide the year into five seasons, among them Wari, the cold time of morning frosts, and Itjanu, when storms can roll in without warning.

Of 46 native mammal species once known around Uluṟu, surveys now find only about 21, and the return of animals such as the mala and bilby is supported.

In 2020 Google agreed to remove user photos of Uluṟu's summit from its maps, at the park's request and in line with the traditional owners' wishes.

Why it is worth it

Few landscapes are as instantly recognisable as the one protected here: a single sandstone mass rising out of red sand plains in the centre of Australia, and, to the west, a cluster of great rounded domes. Uluṟu stands 348 metres above the plain with most of its bulk hidden underground, and its surface shifts colour through the day, glowing deep red at dawn and dusk because of iron oxide in the rock. Kata Tjuṯa, "many heads" in the local language, is a group of 36 conglomerate domes made of cobbles and boulders cemented in sandstone. Both are relics of sediments laid down in an ancient sea and later folded and exposed by hundreds of millions of years of erosion.

For the Aṉangu, the traditional owners, these are not scenic backdrops but living places. The features of Uluṟu are the marks left by ancestral beings in the creation period, and parts of Kata Tjuṯa hold knowledge reserved for initiated men. In 1985 the freehold title was handed back to the Aṉangu, who leased the park to the federal government for 99 years; it has since been run under joint management, and Aṉangu guides lead walks that explain bush foods, plants and Tjukurpa stories. In 2019, after a unanimous vote by the park board, the chains of the old climbing route were removed and climbing ended for good, in keeping with the owners' long-standing wish.

The park covers about 1,326 square kilometres and is listed by UNESCO for both its natural and its cultural values, as well as being a biosphere reserve. What looks like empty desert is a rich arid ecosystem: at least seven species of bat roost in the crevices of the rocks, 73 species of reptile have been recorded, and after the rare heavy rains waterfalls pour off the rock faces and frogs appear in the pools at their base. Walking trails such as the Liru, Mala and Kuniya walks lead around the base of Uluṟu, and dedicated viewing areas are laid out for sunrise and sunset over both formations.

Getting there

Visitors stay at Yulara (Ayers Rock Resort), just outside the park boundary and about 17 km by road from Uluṟu; there is no accommodation inside the park. Ayers Rock Connellan Airport (AYQ) serves the resort, about 15 km from the rock. The nearest large town is Alice Springs, around 440 km away by road along the Stuart and Lasseter Highways.

From the encyclopaedia

Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia. The park is home to both Uluru and Kata Tjuta. It is located 1,943 kilometres (1,207 mi) south of Darwin by road and 440 kilometres (270 mi) south-west of Alice Springs along the Stuart and Lasseter Highways. The Outback Highway linking Western Australia and Queensland, and being developed as Australia's third east-west transcontinental route, shares the main road through the park.

Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park

Interesting facts

Why it is worth it

Getting there

Plan your visit

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From the encyclopaedia