Uluru & Red Centre

Uluru: the base walk, sunrise and sunset

The 10-kilometre base walk is how you meet Uluru. Up close the smooth flanks turn into caves, folds, waterholes and rock art. Mutitjulu Waterhole and the Mala Walk are the sections to do slowly, and the Cultural Centre near the base explains why. Go early; it's hot by mid-morning most of the year.

Two tours cut the trudge without cutting the detail. Uluru By Segway, from $209, is a two-and-a-half-hour guided glide around the full 10km base, training included, with commentary on history, geology and Anangu culture; you self-drive to the Kuniya carpark and it runs early mornings from November to March. Quarter Uluru Segway & Sunset, from $239, covers the most scenic quarter on wheels, walks you to Mutitjulu Waterhole and the Mala rock art, then parks you at the sunset viewing area with sparkling wine, resort transfers included.

Kata Tjuta, Kings Canyon and the view from above

Kata Tjuta ('many heads') is the other sunset, with its own viewing area and a fraction of the crowd. The Walpa Gorge walk runs between two of the domes. Kings Canyon, in Watarrka National Park about three hours from Yulara, is the Red Centre's great walk: the Rim Walk climbs steeply, then circles sheer red walls past the Lost City and the Garden of Eden.

Helicopters make sense of all this geology. The Kings Canyon & George Gill Range Helicopter, from $459, is 30 minutes over the canyon, maximum four passengers. The Uluru & Kata Tjuta Sunset Helicopter Flight, from $489, is 36 minutes looping both landmarks at the closest distance regulations allow, never directly over them, in line with Anangu cultural protocols.

Multi-day Red Centre tours from Alice Springs

This is how most backpackers do it, and it's the better-value way. The Uluru Tour with Kata Tjuta & Kings Canyon - Swag (Alice Springs to Yulara), from $799, is four days and three nights of swag camping with all meals, park entry, Uluru sunset and sunrise, Walpa Gorge, the Cultural Centre and the Kings Canyon Rim Walk, finishing at Yulara so you can fly out.

The Uluru Tour with Kata Tjuta, Kings Canyon & MacDonnell Ranges (Alice Springs to Alice Springs), from $1,539, is the five-day loop: the same big three, then Ormiston Gorge and the West and East MacDonnell Ranges, two nights in eco tents and two in swags. From the south, the Adelaide to Uluru Tour, from $1,909, is seven days via the Flinders Ranges and underground Coober Pedy. Heading north, the Alice Springs to Darwin Tour, from $839, is three days via the Devils Marbles and Litchfield National Park.

Which Red Centre tour is right for you?

Flying into Yulara with a day or two: Quarter Uluru Segway & Sunset, from $239, is the best single half-day, with the walk, the rock art and the sunset in one hit. Add the Uluru & Kata Tjuta Sunset Helicopter Flight, from $489, if the budget stretches.

Starting in Alice with four days: the swag tour, from $799, is the backpacker standard, three swag nights, meals and park fees included. Want the gorges too: the five-day MacDonnell Ranges loop, from $1,539.

Crossing the country: Adelaide to Uluru, from $1,909, or Alice Springs to Darwin, from $839. Money no object, time short: the Heli Safari, from $1,809, does Uluru, Kata Tjuta and Kings Canyon in around two hours of flying.

Three days in the Red Centre: a sample plan

Day one: arrive Yulara, drop bags, and book Quarter Uluru Segway & Sunset, from $239, to handle the walk, the rock art and the sparkling. Stars after dinner; there's no light pollution to speak of.

Day two: sunrise at Uluru, then the full base walk before the heat (or Uluru By Segway, from $209, in season). Cultural Centre at lunch, Walpa Gorge in the afternoon, and the Kata Tjuta dune viewing area for a quieter second sunset.

Day three: Kings Canyon Rim Walk at first light, then the Kings Canyon & George Gill Range Helicopter, from $459, to see what you just climbed.

Anangu country: how to visit well

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park is Anangu land, jointly managed with Parks Australia and governed by Tjukurpa, the law and knowledge that explain how the landscape came to be. Visitors are asked not to climb Uluru, and the climb has been closed since October 2019.

Some sites around the base are sacred and signposted as no-photography areas. Respect the signs, keep to the tracks, and don't take rocks or sand home. Spend an hour in the Cultural Centre before you walk.

Know before you go

Seasons: May to September is the time to come, with warm days and cold nights that can drop below freezing, so pack a proper jacket for sunrise. October to March brings heat above 40 degrees, flies (a head net is not a joke), and walks that close by late morning on extreme days.

Park pass: everyone needs an Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park entry pass, valid for multiple days. Multi-day tours from Alice include it; the Segway and helicopter tours ask you to bring your own.

Getting there: fly direct into Ayers Rock Airport at Yulara, or fly to Alice Springs and tour overland, about four and a half hours by road. Carry more water than you think, wear enclosed shoes, and expect patchy phone reception outside Yulara.