Uluru (aka Ayers Rock).Rising from the desert in almost the exact centre of Australia Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock, is Australia's most recognisable natural icon.
Rising, seemingly from nowhere, Uluru is one of the great wonders of the "modern" world and is probably the most visited of all the tourist attractions in Australia. While most visitors would have seen photographs, or advertisements featuring Uluru, nothing can prepare you for the physical impact of this vast monolith. Its sheer size dwarfs everything around it. It is 2.4km (1.5 miles) long and 1.6km (1 mile) wide and rises up about 348 metres above the surrounding land. It covers 3.33 square km (1.29 square miles) of land and it extends deep below the surface of the ground, exactly how far is not known, and it's said that about 500 million years ago it was part of the ocean floor. For some reason there is little or no vegetation on the rock.
Sunrises and sunsets cause changes to its colour from browns though oranges, reds to finally grey, it's an impressive sight and one which inpires awe in all who witness it. Although Uluru is an Aboriginal sacred site visitors may wish to make the tough 1.6km ascent to the top or take a walking tour around the rock with an aboriginal guide, learning about its fascinating connection with the Uluru people and its importance in dreamtime legend. Also in this enormous park are many Aboriginal sacred sites, spectacular scenery and famous rock formations. Forty kilometres to the west of Uluru/Ayers Rock is Kata Tjuta, also known as The Olgas.
This massive pile of rock domes dates back about 500 million years and both Uluru and Kata Tjuta have great cultural significance for the traditional aboriginal landowners, the Anangu people, who lead walking tours that inform about the local flora and fauna, bush foods and the Aboriginal Dreamtime stories of the area. Both Uluru and Kata Tjuta are considered sacred to the Aboriginals and visitors should respect this and recognise that they are the guests of the Aboriginal people and are present only with their permission. Whilst climbing is allowed, the Anangu people (traditional owners) prefer that people do not climb. Please note that as a sign of respect you should always check before climbing and if you do decide to climb Uluru then make sure that you have comfortable footwear and take lots of water. You should also aim to be down by 9am during the summer months as it is too hot to climb any later than this. (The Climb is closed at 8am if the temperature is due to reach 36 degrees). The climb takes about 3 hours in total, with breathtaking views of the Olgas and surrounding area, just remember to take your time and step carefully, several people have died from climbing Uluru, mainly due to heart attacks although some by falling down the steep rock. A chain is in place to help you on the steepest section, although this stops nearly half way to the top. There are also different walks that you can take around the base of Uluru. The longest would be the 9.4km walk around the whole of the base which takes between 3 and 4 hours. It's a long way but the walk is worth it As with all of the walks you should start early in the morning before the sun has got too hot.
Some areas of the rock are sacred and are clearly marked, so the Anangu people request that you do not take pictures or enter these areas. Two shorter walks that you can do are the Mala Walk, which is 2km, and the Mutitjulu Walk, which is 1km. The Mala Walk tells the story of the Tjukurpa (traditional law) of the Mala (hare-wallaby people). The Mutitjulu is a permanent waterhole and the walk tells the story of the clash between the two ancestral snakes Kuniya and Liru. You can either follow a guided tour or take the walks on your own. If you don't fancy walking around Uluru, you should definitely go to watch it during sunrise or sunset, when the rock changes colours, from greys, to browns, to reds, to oranges, to yellows. It really is an amazing experience to watch this happening. For a great many Australian tourists visiting Uluru is the most anticipated moment of their Australian vacation, it becomes something that no Australian holiday is complete without and is the most asked about part of the trip when you get back home. There are other things you can do while you're visiting Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. The Cultural Centre, located 13 km after the park entrance, and 2km before Uluru, where the journey through the "Tjukurpa Tunnel" introduces you to the culture of the Anangu people and Aboriginal law (Tjukurpa). The cultural centre is open 7am to 6pm (entry closes 5.30pm) every day with the information desk opening hours from 8am to 12 noon and 1pm to 5pm Entry is free and the centre offers great information materials, and brochures about Uluru's history, geology and environment. Uluru sunset and sunrise Viewing is something you simply must do but is only possible from designated parking and viewing areas. You will be told the exact times of sunrise and sunset upon arrival at your accommodation, or you can check at the Cultural Centre. It's as well to note here that alcohol is banned in all Aboriginal areas in The Northern Territory, the only exceptions being the designated viewing areas at Uluru. Whilst entry to the cultural centre is free there is a fee of A$25 per person to go into Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park and the pass is valid for three days. There are no one day or two day passes and children under 16 are free.
Camping fees are reasonable however, so are the prices at the cafe inside the national park and if you're travelling on a budget you can camp for free at Curtin Springs, 92 km from the park entrance or you can join one of the Outback safari style tours available where you'll be camping at a private bush camping site outside the national park. There is a supermarket at Ayers Rock Resort, which has normal prices, and a service station and although you'll pay more for your fuel than in the city, fuel prices are reasonable for the location. There is no accomodation inside Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. As an aside, it has been widely publicised over the years, visitors who take mementoes from the area, sand or pieces of rock for example, apparently report an increase in bad luck; returning the mementoes is supposed to restore normality. We do get e-mails asking for an address to which items can be safely returned and we suggest you identify clearly where the item was taken from and return it to: Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, PO Box 119, Yulara, Northern Territory 0872, Australia. Ancient Aboriginal paintings can be seen in caves in Uluru, these paintings tell the story of Dreamtime and the Aboriginal story of how the world was formed. Uluru is now listed as a World Heritage site, recognising its importance and uniqueness.
That little box on the right is not the usual link to an Uluru hotel booking site... It is a search tool and it searches the 30 biggest booking sites on the web and brings back all the prices for you, so you can make sure you get the best deal available. Just enter your chosen dates and click the Go button and you get magically transported to a page that lists all the Uluru accommodation that is currently available for those dates and the best price for each. (Page opens in new window.) Click on any individual hotel and you can see all the results for that hotel. If you want a bigger room or one in a better location you can see with one glance who has the best hotel deal for you. On top of the best prices you also get information about the individual hotels and resorts, pictures, maps, reviews from travellers, all neatly presented and very user friendly. Once you click "Select" on the best price, THEN you get taken to a booking site where you can find out more details about the offer. Try it out for yourself, you'll be impressed! Whenever you go to Uluru it will be a wonderful experience........enjoy, John.
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The Olgas, or Kata Tjuta as it's known these days, is a dramatic series of 36 dome-like rock formations which stand up to 1,701ft (546m) high, cover an area of 35km and, like Uluru, produce an incredible light show at sunset, with crimsons turning to rusts, and pinks to mauves.
Around the base you will see numerous Aboriginal paintings, along with descriptive boards explaining about the paintings. 
Accommodation and most restaurants at Yulara are overpriced (Yulara, the Aboriginal name of the Ayers Rock Resort, means "crying", "weeping". The cynics amongst us say it’s called that because that's what visitors do when they see their bill... ).
