Holidays inUluṟu

Best time to visit Uluṟu

You can visit Uluṟu any time of the year – the resort and national park are open year-round – but desert temperatures are extreme, with summer temperatures often nudging more than 45˚C. Summer is also when the flies are at their friendliest, and are annoying enough to spoil your holiday, even if you wear a fly net (which you can buy at the Uluṟu visitors centre).

The best time to visit is during the winter months, between May and October, when days are mild and sunny, but night-time temperatures are freezing. Bring plenty of warm clothes for sunrises and sunset outings because that’s the best time to see the rock as it changes colour in the soft light.

Flights to Uluṟu

The easiest way to see this sacred monolith is to fly directly to Ayers Rock Airport (Yulara), which is about 22km north of Uluṟu, then book in at one of Ayers Rock Resort’s hotels, which includes glampsite Longitude 131°. A free shuttle bus circulates the resort daily, making it easy to get around once you’re there.

Alternatively, you can catch a tour bus from Alice Springs, which is a five-hour drive to the north-east. There are no trains to Uluṟu – the nearest train station is at Alice Springs.

Driving to Uluṟu

Driving to Uluṟu from Alice Springs is a great option, as you’ll arrive at Uluṟu with a deeper understanding of the Red Centre and a better perspective of just how big it is. You can hire cars in Alice Springs and one-way hire is available if you want to drive in and fly out.

Alice Springs to Ayers Rock Resort is 450km down the Stuart and Lasseter highways, approximately 4.5 hours drive on sealed roads. There are four petrol stations along the way.

You can also drive to Uluṟu from Alice Springs via Kings Canyon – another breathtaking spot – on the Red Centre Way through the beautiful West MacDonnell Ranges. It’s dusty and bit bumpy, but one of the outback’s best road trips.

Ranger Walks

The traditional owners of Uluṟu, the Aṉangu community, have long since urged people to circumnavigate the rock on foot, rather than climb it due to its spiritual significance and for their own safety. It wasn’t until October 2019 that the climbing ban officially came into effect – and with good reason. Just in case you are wondering, we have 5 reasons the Uluṟu climbing ban makes total sense and 11 things to do at Uluṟu that aren’t climbing.

To really interact with this spiritual place in a meaningful way, and to learn all about the cultural significance of Uluṟu, join a ranger-guided Mala Walk, which leaves from the Mala car park each morning.

Camel Safaris

Take a sunrise or sunset camel-train tour, watching the glowing light blaze across Uluṟu and Kata Tjuṯa. With dewy eyes framed by luscious lashes, the camels are gentle, friendly creatures, with an undulating, slow-paced gait.

Saddle up at the camel farm at Ayers Rock Resort just before sunset or sunrise, enjoy the view and return to the farm to munch on freshly baked beer damper.

Kata Tjuṯa

Make sure you have enough time at Uluṟu to spend half a day or more at Kata Tjuṯa, formerly known as The Olgas – it’s just as impressive as Uluṟu.

It’s around a half-hour drive from Ayers Rocks Resort, and there are lots of tours available if you don’t have your own set of wheels (book a tour when you arrive).

Field of Light

Another don’t miss sight is artist Bruce Munro’s Field of Light, one of the largest art installations in Australia’s history. More than 50,000 spindles of light transform the desert floor into a multi-coloured garden at night. The installation was originally planned to be on show for just 12 months but has been extended until the end of 2020.

Your first trip to Uluṟu should begin at the cultural centre, where a series of exhibits, paintings, videos and interpretation boards explain the relationship that the Aṉangu have with the land, Uluṟu and Kata Tjuṯa.

Walks

Walk around Uluṟu – a 10.6-kilometre round trip, best completed before 10am – and you’ll find a permanent watering hole, caves and Indigenous rock art. Take a tour and you’ll be guided by someone who won’t just reel off a series of statistics – although they’re in there – but who will explain the beautiful Aboriginal stories that entwine this rock through their culture. You can also explore Kata Tjuṯa on foot. The Valley of the Winds trail is a three-hour hike that takes you up the domes’ steep sides to some beautiful lookout points.

Day Trips

Hire a bicycle from the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa Cultural Centre and cycle around the base of Uluṟu, jump on the back of a Harley Davidson for a motorcycle tour around Uluṟu and Kata Tjuṯa, or join a tour – a good guide really adds meaning to your time here.

Scenic Flights

See the rock from above – scenic flights in fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters are available, and if you really want to ramp up the adventure, you can admire the views as you freefall above the desert on a tandem skydive.

More like a village than a hotel, Ayers Rock Resort (managed by Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia), has five different types of hotels, including the five-star hotel Sails in the Desert, the four-and-a-half-star Desert Gardens Hotel (some rooms even offer glimpses of the rock), four-star Emu Walk Apartments, which are self-catering, and air-conditioned cabins in the campground.

You can also stay at roadhouses along the highway, but be warned – they’re very basic. Curtin Spring Cattle Station is our pick of the bunch. It’s a good alternative if you plan to also see Kings Canyon as well as Uluṟu, and they run tours to Mount Connor. However, if you plan to base yourself here, you’ll need a car.

Camping

Accommodation at Uluṟu is expensive, so the best option for those on a tight budget is to camp. You cannot camp in the national park, but Ayers Rock Resort has a surprisingly green camping ground that has powered sites for caravans, campervans, motorhomes and camper trailers, as well as grassy tent sites. Facilities include a swimming pool, playground, barbecue, outdoor kitchen and laundry.

Glamping

If a view of Uluṟu from your king-sized bed doesn’t win you over, something else is bound to at luxury resort Longitude 131. Fitted with antique trinkets and earthly furnishings, the 15 tented pavilions take the concept of camping to another stratosphere. Guided tours included in the tariff give guests exclusive access to parts of the national park, and your Uluṟu experience can be as leisurely or intrepid as you like. Gaze at the ochre rock at sunset with a glass of bubbly, or follow the route of the ancestors on a guided, pre-dawn walk around its base.

Food always tastes better outdoors, but when it’s eaten beneath a twinkling canopy of stars in the outback, it’s truly unforgettable.

The Sounds of Silence dinner atop a sand dune in the desert near Ayers Rock Resort is not your average bush barbecue, nor is it priced as such.

After tucking into fine wines, fresh barramundi, lamb, kangaroo and emu steaks, bush vegetables and luscious desserts, the lanterns are dimmed, the port poured and the legends of the southern sky are explained by a local astronomer.

For something even more intimate, exclusive and gourmet, try Tali Wiri.

Like Sounds of Silence, it’s a four-hour dining experience with a view of Uluṟu and tales told by an indigenous storyteller, but unlike Sounds (which caters for up to 350 people per evening across three different sites), Tali seats just 20.

To give you a feel for the level of gourmet, let’s just say it starts with Louis Roederer. The cuisine is distinctly Australian – think tender Darling Downs wagyu and wattleseed rubbed kangaroo carpaccio.

Other AT favourite places to eat at Ayers Rock Resort include cafe-restaurant Geckos, the friendly Pioneer BBQ and Bar at the Outback Pioneer Hotel and Lodge and Arnguli Grill at Desert Gardens – a lovely, contemporary menu using modern ingredients and unpretentious recipes.