Best things to do at Uluru: What are the top Ayers Rock activities?

The best things to do at Uluru in the Northern Territory include dot painting workshops, camel rides, sunset viewing, scenic flights and the Uluru Base Walk. Most activities are bookable via the Ayers Rock Resort.

Uluru – formerly known as Ayers Rock – is one of Australia’s internationally recognised icons. For many, Uluru symbolises the outback. It’s a 348 metre-tall red rock rising from the desert plains in the middle of the Northern Territory’s Red Centre, formed over 550 million years.

8 great Uluru experiences to book before you arrive

• 1. Understand Uluru’s caves, bulges, gullies and spiritual stories on a guided base walk.
• 2. Be awe-struck by the changing colours on a SUNRISE tour.
• 3. Eat great food on a dune top, and enjoy an expert-guided stargazing session during a once-in-a-lifetime desert dune-top dinner.
• 4. See an entirely different kind of dramatic outback scenery on Kings Canyon day trip.
• 5. Do a lap of Uluru by Segway.
• 6. See the big picture on an outback helicopter flight.
• 7. See Australia’s most spectacular light show – the Field of Light at sunrise.
• 8. Admire the colour-shifting giant rock domes on a Kata-tjuta sunset trip.

Uluru is one part of the classic Australian itinerary travel agents sell. It gets bundled together in a triangle with Sydney Harbour and the Great Barrier Reef near Cairns.

The good news is that Uluru is one of those touristy places that’s absolutely worth visiting. It’s easy to be cynical about travelling all that way to see a big rock, but that cynicism doesn’t survive contact with Uluru. The world’s most famous monolith is genuinely majestic, and utterly compelling to walk around. There’s a mixture of Indigenous culture, astonishing outback colours and sense of discovery that make visiting Uluru memorable.

Things to do at Uluru: How long is the Uluru Base Walk?

But what are the best things to do at Uluru? Well, you can no longer climb Uluru. This was finally banned in 2018 for both safety reasons and to respect the wishes of the traditional Aboriginal custodians of the land.

Luckily, you can walk around Uluru. The Uluru Base Walk is fantastic, showing off many different sides to the big red rock. There are pockmarks, caves, little gullies and sites of huge significance to the Indigenous people of the area. The Uluru base walk is around 10km long, and does a full lap around what was once called Ayers Rock. It takes about three to four hours to walk around Uluru, stopping to be nosy along the way.

The walk is flat, but exposed. It is wise to start early in the morning before the desert heat gets too roasting.

The first part of the Uluru Base Walk is the Mala Walk. This 2km return walk goes as far as Kantju Gorge, and signposts along the way give explanations of the key Aboriginal sites and rock art. Combine this with a visit to the genuinely informative Cultural Centre, and there’s really no need to take a guided walking tour at Uluru. Futher round on the base walk, you’ll find the Mutitjulu Waterhole, which is a mini oasis.

This once-in-a-lifetime dune-top dinner experience, with special stargazing session included, is our top Uluru recommendation.

Best things to do at Uluru: Sunrise and sunset

The other reason to get up early is to watch sunrise. The rock lights up in an astonishing, ever-shifting array of colours. There’s a designated sunrise viewing area to the south-east of Uluru called Talinguru Nyakunytjaku. The positioning is deliberate – it’s where to see the sunrise in the best light. There are also a couple of interpretive walks nearby.

Similar visual effects kick in at sunset, and there are two sunset viewing areas, one for buses and one for cars. Both are to the north-west of Uluru, and are much closer to the Ayers Rock Resort in Yulara, where almost all visitors to Uluru stay. They can get crowded, so walk along the dunes to give yourself a bit more space.

Activities at the Ayers Rock Resort

The Ayers Rock Resort is a collection of several hotels, ranging from backpacker dorms and a campground to luxury Sails In The Desert. The resort is the hub for most of the activities that take place around Uluru – and there is a ridiculously long list of these experiences.

Some of the guided tours are a waste of money if you’ve hired a car at Uluru Airport. It’s easy enough to see Uluru and nearby Kata-Tjuta under your own steam. This is worth considering if you fancy an Uluru Segway tour or motorbike ride.

Other, more distinctive experiences, however, are worth shelling out for. These include camel rides through the desert, Aboriginal dot-painting workshops, evening stargazing sessions, the Wintjiri Wiru drone show and the dunetop Sounds of Silence dinner.

Scenic flights at Uluru are also a good bet, and the more expensive options end up being a full day trip from Uluru. They’re the only way to see the top of the monolith these days, now climbing is banned. Going up in a helicopter also gives a bigger picture of the remote Red Centre setting. And it is astonishingly remote. The drive from nearest city Alice Springs to Uluru past Mount Conner takes the best part of five hours. Uluru is located in the middle of nowhere.

Free things to do at Uluru

There are also several free Ukuru activities which are good for padding out the day. Things to do at Uluru for free include a stargazing documentary screening, a bush food experience, guided garden walks and an Aboriginal storytelling session. Most of the things to do at Uluru for free are short, perfunctory versions of a more encompassing activity you can pay for.

A three day Uluru Park Pass, granting entry to the national park, costs $38.

Which Uluru accommodation should I book?

Let’s not sugar-coat it: Accommodation at Uluru is expensive. Specialist Australian accommodation website Wotif lists Uluru accommodation for from $300. Check the top deals page to search through the options.

However, if you stay for three nights rather than two, hefty discounts tend to kick in.

The Uluru accommodation options are designed with different target markets in mind. Book which one fits you best.

• For the lowest prices: Ayers Rock Campground.
• For best quality: Sails in the Desert.
• For families and self-caterers: Emu Walk Apartments.
• For mid-range solidity: Desert Gardens.

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