For many, Uluru and its neighbour Kata Tjuta aren't just rocks, they are living, breathing, cultural landscapes that are incredibly sacred. Known as being the resting place for the past ancient spirits of the region.
To the traditional owners of the land, Uluru is incredibly sacred and spiritual, a living and breathing landscape in which their culture has always existed. According to Australian indigenous cultural beliefs, Uluru was created in the very beginning of time.
Located in the heart of the continent, Uluru is one of Australia's most recognisable landmarks – a red sandstone monolith that rises 348 metres above the desert. It is a natural wonder, a symbol of Aboriginal land rights and a source of spiritual connection with the continent.
Australia's most famous natural landmark has two names – Uluru and Ayers Rock. So which one is correct? The rock was called Uluru a long time before Europeans arrived in Australia. The word is a proper noun from the Pitjantjatjara language and doesn't have an English translation.
According to Aboriginal legends, Uluru is at a crossroads between all of the sacred paths known as ivara that run through Central Australia. The paths hold the memories of demigods and diving beings that experienced journeys and adventures. According to Anangu beliefs, their souls occupy the surrounding nature.
For the Anangu, Uluru is so much more than just an ancient rock, it's a living cultural landscape that holds many sacred sites and stories. The Anangu believe that this landscape was created by ancestral beings, and that they are the direct descendants of those beings.
Uluru Rock's cultural significance
Because of its age and the span of time that Anangu People have lived there, Uluru is now a sacred site for this culture. Uluru Rock has been used within Dreaming stories for many generations, and it is seen today as a resting place for ancient spirits.
Welcome to Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. We are are Yankunytjatjara and Pitjantjatjara people, the traditional landowners of Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.
Uluru and Kata Tjuta started to form about 550 million years ago.
The reason for its striking colour is due to the iron minerals found within the rock. The iron has slowly rusted over the years rock a bright red colour. However, this isn't the only colour Uluru shines. Movements of the sun cause the rock to appear to change colours, from red to orange to purple and back again.
The rock's caves, cliffs and fissures contain countless petroglyphs that tell the story of the ancestors. Certain rock outcroppings represent ancestral spirits, and the Anangu believe that by simply touching the rocks they can communicate with dreamtime and receive blessings from their ancestors.
There is no one Aboriginal word that all Aborigines use for Australia; however, today they call Australia, ""Australia"" because that is what it is called today. There are more than 250 aboriginal tribes in Australia. Most of them didn't have a word for ""Australia""; they just named places around them.
The Anangu people of the Uluru region have one of the world's oldest living cultures, dating back thousands of years. This culture of art, story and landscape is represented in Tjukurpa (pronounced 'chu-ka-pa'), the foundation of the Anangu way of life.
Uluru isn't yours to climb
The traditional owners – the Anangu – consider Uluru an intensely spiritual place, an area where their Tjukurpa (creation stories), which govern their ceremonies, art and rules for living, converge.
Sacred sites give meaning to the natural landscape. They anchor cultural values and spiritual and kin-based relationships in the land. Aboriginal people know that sacred sites can be dangerous places and can play an important part in their health and well-being.
The Uluru climb closed permanently from 26 October 2019
Uluru has been sacred to Anangu for tens of thousands of years, and climbing Uluru was not generally permitted under Tjukurpa (Anangu law and culture).
Sites that are sacred are clearly marked on visitors maps obtained at the cultural Centre. Climbing Uluru itself is not prohibited however Anangu asks visitors to respect their spiritual beliefs and refrain from climbing the monolith as it has a strong cultural importance to them and their history.
Uluru is a sacred men's site. It is of great significance to Anangu men and they have voted for its closure. There are many sites around the base of the site that carry similar cultural significance that visitors also do not visit. Anangu traditional law forbids climbing of the rock.
Australia's Seven Natural Wonders are renowned to include:
Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Northern Territory. Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory. Twelve Apostles, Victoria. Cradle Mountain, Tasmania.
Uluru-Kata Tjuta is world-famous for its spectacular sunrises and sunsets. As the sunlight plays with the landscape, the rock formations change colour before your eyes.
Uluru rises 348 metres above the surrounding plain. That's higher than the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Chrysler Building in New York or the Eureka Tower in Melbourne.
The formation of Uluru started around 550 million years ago, when the Petermann Ranges to the west of Uluru were substantially higher and the and and rock were eroded by rainwater and placed into fan-shaped patterns on the plains as the mountains were eroded.
Uluru is an ancient sandstone monolith in Central Australia, famous for its gorgeous auburn hue, which seems to change with changing seasons and time of day. It is one of Australia's prime tourist attractions.
Uluru's Flaky Surface
The flaky exterior of Uluru is due to the chemical decay of the minerals present. Normally, the arkose rock is a greyish colour, however, the oxidation of the iron mineral present in the rock exposes a rusty flaky residue, causing the rust red colour Uluru is famous for.