
Uluru (Ayers Rock) is perhaps the most iconic symbol of Australia - it's one of the picture postcard images sure to strike a chord with Australians all over the world. It is 1141 feet (348 metres) high, 2.2 miles (3.6 kilometres) long and 1.2 miles (1.9 kilometres) wide. In the Aussie vernacular, it's really bloody big! And rising as it does majestically out of the surrounding red-desert flatlands it's easy to see why it's been an Aboriginal sacred site for tens of thousands of years. The sheer scale of Uluru cannot be properly appreciated until you see, and for many travelers it is the highlight of their trip to the great land down under.
There are several multi-day tours, like the 2-day Uluru Sunset/Kata Tjuta Tour, the 3-day Alice Springs, Ayers Rock and Kings Canyon Tour, and the 4-day Alice Springs, MacDonnells and Uluru Tour. But if you prefer to arrange your own affairs try some of the following. We've designed this itinerary to take you onto Alice Springs by the end of day three, to begin the next part of your great Australian adventure.
Once you've landed at the airport get an Ayers Rock airport transfer to your Ayers Rock Resort accommodation. Spend a while in the Uluru-Kata Tjuta Cultural Centre for a taste of Anangu history and culture. Then try a 55-minute Uluru helicopter tour which will give you a unique bird's-eye view of 'The Rock' and Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) and the huge Lake Amadeus. Having seen it from above, put on your walking boots and join the Uluru Aboriginal Mala walk tour, led by local Aborigines and learn how they lived and conducted ceremonies around the base of Uluru.
Hungry? Travel out to a secluded dining setting in the middle of the desert and dine at the award-winning Sounds of Silence Restaurant under a million stars – try the fillet of kangaroo in wild pepperberry.
Get up early and join the Uluru Camel Express Sunrise Tour. Before the days of roads and railways the humble dromedary was the primary means of transport across the desert. Expert cameleers take you on a leisurely ride in the cool morning air through the desert with the backdrop of Uluru and Kata Tjuta.
Later, get messy at the Aboriginal Dot Painting Workshop where you'll learn how Aboriginal culture and Tjukurpa (Dreamtime) stories are expressed in their unique art, and then get a chance to try your hand. After dinner at one of the Ayers Rock Resort's ten great restaurants, go to the Night Sky Show at Ayers Rock Observatory. Here, away from the city lights, the night sky is ablaze with stars, and the astronomers will help you find all the zodiac constellations through their large telescopes.
Enjoy an Uluru sunrise breakfast provided by the Uluru-Kata Tjuta Cultural Centre, and learn ancient skills like making fire and bush glue. Take the short walk to the Mutitjulu water hole on the southern side of 'The Rock' – here there was a fight between Kuniya and Liru, two ancestral snakes.
In the early afternoon climb aboard an air-conditioned luxury coach for a six-hour interpretive Ayers Rock to Alice Springs bus transfer that takes you through the incredible landscapes of Australia's red centre.
Check out our complete list of Ayers Rock tours and activities. And we've got all of Australia's big destinations covered including Sydney, Melbourne, Cairns, Brisbane, Perth, Darwin, Alice Springs and Adelaide.