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Flights to Ayers Rock

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Ayers Rock, now more officially called Uluru, is one of Australia’s best known landmarks and it’s situated in the Northern Territory, 208 miles by road from the nearest major town, Alice Springs.

Flights to Ayers Rock

Being so remote taking a flight to Ayers Rock is a good idea unless you’re planning on a lengthy road trip. The Ayers Rock Airport (airport code: AYQ) is also known as Connellan Airport and it’s located about 20 minutes drive from Ayers Rock itself. From the UK you’ll need to take indirect flights to Ayers Rock, with two stops en-route. The first stop is a technical stop for re-fuelling, usually in Asia, while the second stop will be likely be Sydney. Travel to Sydney can be taken with British Airways, Qantas Airways, and Thai Air International amongst others. In Sydney you’ll change to a Qantas flight to Ayers Rock.

A Guide to Visiting Ayers Rock

What is Ayers Rock?

Ayers Rock is a sandstone rock formation, known as an inselberg (meaning ‘island mountain’) in geological terms. Once this would have been part of a much larger mountain range, but this is now all that remains because of the effects of erosion.

Uluru or Ayers Rock?

It’s been known as Ayers Rock around the world since 1873 when a surveyor visited and named it after the then Chief Secretary of South Australia, Sir Henry Ayers. Locally it’s always been known as Uluru by the local Pitjantjatjara people, and since 1993 it’s officially had a dual name: Uluru / Ayers Rock.

Can you Climb Ayers Rock?

People have been climbing Ayers Rock for many years despite the fact that it’s not the safest thing to do. Currently, climbing is still allowed, though this may be changing, however the local Anangu people do not climb Uluru because it is of great spiritual importance to them, and they honestly prefer that visitors don’t either. The chain handhold makes the climb easier if you do decide to scale it, but it’s still dangerous, and if it’s a windy day no climbing will be allowed at all.

Photographing Ayers Rock

Ayers Rock takes on different colours throughout the day, and is most spectacular at sunrise and sunset when the reds in the sandstone really come to life. There are some specific viewing areas that have been established for the purpose of photographing, or simply admiring, Uluru at these times of the day, so try to get along to these for the best possible views.

You should also be aware that the Anangu people request that some sections of the rock are not photographed. This is due to their traditional beliefs and use of Uluru for rituals.

Staying at Ayers Rock

Ayers Rock is within a national park and is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In the past there were accommodation and other services very close by but because of the detrimental effect this was having, all accommodation was moved to outside the park boundaries. So there are not motels or camping allowed here. However, Ayres Rock resort, formally known as Yulara, was established just outside the park boundaries and there are numerous places to stay here.

When Should You Visit Ayers Rock?

Despite being in the outback, Ayers Rock is not hot all year round! Winter temperatures are actually quite cool, averaging at just 4.7C (40.5F), but the summer is a different story – average temperatures of 37.8C (100F) make visiting in the summer (November to March) a hot experience.