Things to Do in Uluru

Base Walk Around Uluru

The 10.6-kilometre loop at Uluru's base turns the rock from postcard to presence. Waterholes appear where the stone weeps dark tears, sacred sites are flagged with polite signs asking you to pocket the camera (honour them, it matters), and cave walls carry ochre paintings older than memory. The rock's skin keeps changing: slick and wave-like here, cratered and coarse there, with grey lichen stitching the shadows.

Sunrise and Sunset Viewing Platforms

This is the most photographed moment in outback Australia for good reason: Uluru slides from bruised purple-grey to molten tangerine as the sun lifts. The sunrise platform faces east with the rock dead centre; you'll hear only shutter clicks and the odd kookaburra laugh. At sunset the western lookout flips the script, the rock flaring blood-red against apricot and violet skies before slipping into silhouette.

Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) Valley of the Winds

Kata Tjuta lies 50 kilometres west of Uluru and, for reasons no one can explain, gets skipped by visitors in a hurry. Skip it and you miss out. Thirty-six domed sentinels rise even higher than Uluru. The Valley of the Winds trail squeezes between them through gorges where the breeze funnels and the air smells of desert oak. The scale scrambles your sense of proportion, rust-coloured walls curve overhead like the backs of sleeping beasts.

Anangu-Led Dot Painting Workshop

Sit cross-legged on red sand while an Anangu artist shows you how a circle means waterhole, a wavy line means rain, a U-shape means people sitting. Acrylic paint cools and grits between your fingers, the tap-tap of brush on board settles into a slow heartbeat. Your finished board will never hang in a gallery, and that is exactly the point.

Field of Light Installation

Bruce Munro's Field of Light, 50,000 slender stems tipped with frosted glass, rolls across the desert floor beside Uluru, shifting through colours after dark like a creature breathing in slow motion. Walking among them at night, with the Milky Way smeared overhead and the stems humming in the breeze, is equal parts eerie and beautiful. Uluru's black silhouette anchors the scene to the south, reminding you this is still planet Earth.

Sails in the Desert, the premium choice at Ayers Rock Resort, with a pool framed by white sails and rooms that hit you with cool relief after the desert furnace.

Desert Gardens Hotel, mid-range, set among native gardens that fill with shrieking galahs at dusk, offering solid rooms without the top-tier surcharge.

Emu Walk Apartments, self-contained units with full kitchens, a lifesaver when the nearest full supermarket is 450 kilometres back in Alice Springs.

The Lost Camel Hotel, the slickest of the Yulara lot, Aboriginal art lining the lobby and a noticeably younger crowd at the bar.

Outback Pioneer Hotel and Lodge, the budget bed, with shared dorms and a communal BBQ where strangers trade road stories over sizzling steaks.

Ayers Rock Campground, roll out a swag or plug in the van. Powered sites and spotless facilities mean you can fall asleep under the Southern Cross without breaking the bank.