OUTBACK & REEF
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Uluru rises above green desert scrub under a pink and blue twilight sky with a full moon

Northern Territory · Gateway AYQ

25.34° S, 131.04° E

Uluru, Kata Tjuta and the long red ranges west of Alice Springs.

When to go

RED CENTRE

The Red Centre: Uluru and the West MacDonnells

Give the Centre three nights at least. Uluru changes by the hour and Kata Tjuta deserves a full morning. If you have five, drive or fly to the West MacDonnell Ranges, Tjoritja, where the gorges hold water all year and the ghost gums grow straight out of the quartzite.

Right season
May to Sep
Nights we'd give it
3 to 5
Fly into
Ayers Rock (Yulara) (AYQ)
From Sydney, approx.
3h 15 in the air · 2,180 km

Ayers Rock airport is ten minutes from Yulara. For the West MacDonnells, fly into Alice Springs (ASP).

Month by month

When to go

Compare every region
  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec
  • The right season
  • Good
  • Possible, with trade-offs
  • Out of season
  • This month

May to Sep

Warm, clear days and cold nights, sometimes below freezing. The right season for walking.

Apr and Oct

Hotter afternoons; walk at first light. Wildflowers can follow autumn rain.

Nov to Mar

Days over 40°C. Some walks close from 11am on hot days. We would send you elsewhere.

A still green waterhole and white sandy bank lined with white-trunked gums lead into the red walls of Ormiston Gorge
Sheer red sandstone walls of Kings Canyon drop into a tree-filled gorge under a clear blue sky
The domes of Kata Tjuta silhouetted on the horizon under an orange sunset sky, with desert oaks and glowing grass in front

What we'd do

What we'd do

  • Uluru at first light

    The base walk with an Anangu-trained guide, before the heat.

  • Walpa Gorge and the Valley of the Winds

    Kata Tjuta on foot, starting at dawn.

  • Watarrka, Kings Canyon

    The rim walk, 6 kilometres, finished by mid-morning.

  • Ormiston and Ellery Creek

    Permanent waterholes in the West MacDonnells. Cold, even in summer.

  • The night sky

    Little light, dry air: the Milky Way overhead from May to September.

  • Maruku Arts at Uluru

    Carving and painting sold directly by the Anangu-owned art centre.

Uluru rises above green desert scrub under a pink and blue twilight sky with a full moon
A still green waterhole and white sandy bank lined with white-trunked gums lead into the red walls of Ormiston Gorge
Sheer red sandstone walls of Kings Canyon drop into a tree-filled gorge under a clear blue sky
The domes of Kata Tjuta silhouetted on the horizon under an orange sunset sky, with desert oaks and glowing grass in front

Whose Country

Whose Country

Anangu (Yankunytjatjara and Pitjantjatjara peoples) at Uluru-Kata Tjuta; Arrernte people at Mparntwe (Alice Springs) and in Tjoritja (the West MacDonnell Ranges); Luritja people at Watarrka

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park is owned by Anangu and jointly managed with Parks Australia. The climb closed permanently in October 2019.

Aboriginal-owned and -led operators we'd book

  • Maruku ArtsArt centre and carving demonstrations at UluruAnangu-owned
  • Karrke Aboriginal Cultural ExperienceBush foods and culture near Kings CanyonAboriginal family-run

Ownership details are being confirmed with each operator.

Visiting respectfully

Some parts of Uluru are sensitive sites and must not be photographed. Signs mark them; so will your guide. Don't climb, and don't take sand or rock.

Country, region by region

Where to stay

Stays in the Red Centre

All stays

The kind of place we book here. Your proposal names each property.

The domes of Kata Tjuta silhouetted on the horizon under an orange sunset sky, with desert oaks and glowing grass in front

The Red Centre · Tented camp

A tented camp on the dunes

Tents on a dune with Uluru and Kata Tjuta both in view.

Photo: the area, not the property · Price on enquiry

A still green waterhole and white sandy bank lined with white-trunked gums lead into the red walls of Ormiston Gorge

The Red Centre · Walkers' camp

A walkers' camp below the ranges

Simple cabins at the foot of the West MacDonnells, for walkers.

Photo: the area, not the property · Price on enquiry

Sample journeys

Journeys through the Red Centre

All journeys
From a rocky sandstone lookout, bright green wetland floodplains stretch to the horizon beneath a cloudy sky in Kakadu

15 to 18 nights · May to September

The long way down

From the Top End to the Southern Ocean, through the middle of the country.

  1. 4 nightsKakaduFly or drive from Darwin. Ubirr, Yellow Water at dawn, a flight over the escarpment.
  2. 2 nightsThe Ghan, Darwin to Alice SpringsOne night on board, stopping at Katherine for Nitmiluk Gorge.
  3. 3 nightsTjoritja, the West MacDonnellsGorges, waterholes and ghost gums west of Alice Springs.
  4. 3 nightsUluru-Kata TjutaVia Kings Canyon. The base walk at first light, Kata Tjuta at dawn.
  5. 2 nightsAdelaide and the BarossaFly south. A winemaker's table.
  6. 3 nightsKangaroo IslandTwo days with a naturalist and the south coast.

Check the Ghan's timetable for your dates: it doesn't run every day, and the season and stops change from year to year.

The Top End · The Red Centre · South Australia

Ask about this journey
A small crescent sand cay sits among patchy coral reef in clear turquoise water on the Great Barrier Reef

12 to 14 nights · May to October

Rock, reef, rainforest

The classic first journey, with time left in it.

  1. 3 nightsSydneyThe harbour, a Blue Mountains day, early nights.
  2. 3 nightsUluru-Kata TjutaFly direct. First light at the Rock, dawn at Kata Tjuta.
  3. 4 nightsPort Douglas and the DaintreeFly to Cairns. The ribbon reefs by private boat; Mossman Gorge with Kuku Yalanji guides.
  4. 3 nightsLizard IslandAn hour by light aircraft. Reef off the beach.

Three flights, every one under four hours. This is about the most we'd fit into two weeks.

Sydney · The Red Centre · The Reef and the Daintree

Ask about this journey

Questions

Before you go

Can we climb Uluru?

No. Anangu closed the climb in October 2019, and we wouldn't ask you to. The base walk is 10 kilometres and better.

How hot is it?

In July, days of around 20°C and nights near zero. In January, often over 40°C. Bring a fly net in the warm months.

Do we need a park pass?

Yes, for Uluru-Kata Tjuta. We include it and tell you how long it lasts.

Should we fly into Uluru or Alice Springs?

Uluru for a short stay. Alice Springs if you're adding the West MacDonnells, then drive to Uluru via Kings Canyon.

Next region TOP END A calm plunge pool with a sandy edge reflects a streaked sandstone escarpment and green woodland in Kakadu
Late-afternoon light turns a line of red sandstone ranges deep orange behind a lone dark-leaved desert tree and golden spinifex near Kings Canyon

Start with the month

Tell us when.
We'll tell you where.

Begin an enquiry

Get in touch

[email protected] Plan your journey

Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm Sydney time
Work Club, Barrack Place, 151 Clarence Street, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia