1. Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Kata Tjuta (the Olgas) are the visible tips of huge sedimentary rock slabs that geologists believe could extend as far as 6 kilometres beneath the Earth’s surface.
2. Uluru is 348 metres at its tallest point – 43 metres higher than Sydney’s Centrepoint Tower, 24 metres higher than the Eiffel Tower, and just 33 metres lower than the Empire State Building.
3. Kata Tjuta, known also as The Olgas, is the Aboriginal name, which means "many heads". It is a group of more than 30 rounded red domes rising from the desert floor. The tallest is said to be around 546 metres high. Kata Tjuta is about 30 kilometres west of Uluru.
4. There are five viewing areas built specifically for experiencing and photographing the beautiful landscape, including Talinguru Nyakunytjaku which in the local aboriginal language means "place to look from the sand dune". Opened in late 2009, this newest viewing platform offers stunning views of Uluru and Kata Tjuta from an angle never seen before.
5.The very first camel arrived in Australia in 1840 and played a vital role in almost every historic exploration of Australia's red desert centre. Today, herds of camels roam across the region, while the experienced cameleers and trained camels of Uluru Camel Farm provide the opportunity to get up close and personal with these amazing creatures.
6. According to Anangu (Aboriginal people), August and September are when the "piriya" comes – a warm steady wind from the north and west. Animals breed, while food plants flower, fruit and seed. Hibernating reptiles come out and the honey grevillea is in bloom. It is also a good time to hunt kangaroo.
7. The Cultural Centre is a free-form structure built from locally made mud bricks. The award-winning design represents the two ancestral snakes of Anangu – Kuniya (woma python) and Liru (poisonous snake man).
8.On October 26, 1985, Australia’s Governor-General Sir Ninian Stephen passed the title deeds to Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park back to the Traditional Owners. In 2010, the Anangu community celebrated the 25th anniversary with a festival at the new viewing platform Talinguru Nyakunytjaku.
9. The colour changes of Uluru result from the filtering affect of the Earth’s atmosphere on the sun’s rays.
10. From a distance, Uluru looks smooth and featureless. But up close its face is weather-beaten, pitted with holes, gashes, ribs, valleys and caves. To Anangu, these features are related to the journeys and actions of ancestral beings across the landscape.
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