Ayers Rock stands as a challenge to those that view it – it's imposing, and it challenges all with questions. What is this chunk of rock doing here? Is it of terrestrial origin? What is it made of? The huge prospect of the mass of rock confounds logic, much like the rock-face in the Hollywood movie Mission to Mars that raised a thousand questions.
It not without justification for the local aborigines, who call this rock Uluru, probably a family name, is worshipped as a sacred place. Like Benares or Parthenon, it is a place or worship to some, and a venue of tourist wonderment for others.
Situated in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, it is virtually in the middle of nowhere, but it draws tourists year round from throughout Australia and the world. Temperatures during summer months can be uncomfortable, and it is always advisable to wear clothes in accordance with weather.
At a height of around 350 meters above ground, it is 8 kilometers around. Mistakenly called a monolith, it is part of a much larger underground structure which includes nearby mountains like Mount Connor and the Kata Tjuta, or Mount Olga.
Largely a limestone structure, it affords varied surfaces, from long clefts on the surface, perforations and smooth façade.
Discovered in 1872 by explorer Ernest Giles, he described it as the ‘remarkable pebble’, an apt name for the smooth megalith named Ayers Rock after the Chief Secretary of South Australia, Sir Henry Ayers.
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