You can lose and find yourself in Australia’s Red Centre, a place rich in Aboriginal culture and rugged outback beauty. You’ll also find the iconic natural wonders of Uluru, Kata Tjuta, the MacDonnell Ranges and Kings Canyon. Explore them all from Alice Springs, the outback town framed by ancient mountain ranges and endless plains. Here in our red heart, you can ride a camel, sleep under the stars, swim in secluded waterways and discover the spiritual dimensions of Aboriginal art.
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1. Timeless stories, sacred places |
Walk around Uluru’s base with an Anangu guide, and learn how it was created by the Tjukuritja (creation ancestors). Read their story in the ancient rock art and trace the battle scars they left behind. Nearby is sacred Kata Tjuta - steep, russet domes over 3,500 hectares. Browse contemporary Aboriginal art along Todd Mall in Alice Springs. From here, visit historic Hermannsburg, the home of Aboriginal artist Albert Namatjira. Or explore the rock art, artefacts and ceremonial sites near the small Aboriginal community of Santa Teresa. |
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2. Rugged outback adventure |
Trek to the rim of Kings Canyon for breathtaking views across the rugged bluffs and gorges of Watarrka National Park. Four wheel drive along the sandy Finke River in Finke Gorge National Park. See Uluru on a motorcycle, from the back of a camel or on a scenic helicopter flight. From Alice Springs, you can bike ride to Simpsons Gap or float over the spinifex grasses at dawn in a hot air balloon. Quad bike through bush tracks or join a camel trek across the rolling sand dunes of the Simpson Desert. |
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3. Magical outback landscapes |
| See World Heritage-listed Uluru match the light and weather with colours so vivid they upstage the sunset. Swim in cool Glen Helen Gorge, Ormiston Gorge or Ellery Creek Big Hole in the West MacDonnell Ranges. Watch Standley Chasm’s steep walls blaze red in the midday sun.Wander through the desert oasis of Palm Valley, home to the unique Red Cabbage Palm, in Finke Gorge National Park. In Watarrka National Park, you can explore the weathered rock domes of the Lost City and the pools of the Garden of Eden.
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4. Journeys with endless outback horizons |
| Trek the Larapinta Trail along the backbone of the West MacDonnell Ranges, past Simpsons Gap, Ormiston Gorge and Glen Helen Gorge. Do day walks, or mix and match the 12 sections which range from easy to arduous. Scramble over ancient escarpments, see uniquely Australian flora and fauna or camp at night beneath a sea of stars. Or take in the vast, multi-coloured vistas driving the Red Centre Way from Alice Springs where you can gaze at Mt Sonder from many vantage points. The journey takes in the West MacDonnell Ranges, Finke Gorge National Park, Kings Canyon and Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. |
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