Spiritual Destination: Australia's Uluru

Situated almost exactly in the centre of Australia lies a massive sandstone rock known to the Aboriginals as Uluru, their most sacred site. Pinpointed in the middle of the Australian Outback, the enormous stone is home to many sites including caves, waterholes, and ancient rock paintings. Uluru, renamed Ayers Rock by European explorers, is 

believed to have been formed by the Aboriginal ancestral beings during Dreamtime, an era set during the time of creation. According to the myth, it wasn’t until the ancestral being entered the earth and journeyed across the land that living species and the desert landscape was created. For the Aboriginals, Uluru is the stunning evidence of this belief and creation period. To this day

Uluru remains a sacred site to several Aboriginal tribes within the desert who still continue to use the site for rituals and create new rock paintings within the caves. The different meanings of each of the rock’s features are passed onto the younger generations during sacred ceremonies conducted around the base of Uluru. During ceremonies it is believed that an Aborigine can invoke the ancestral beings for blessings and communication by touching the sacred rock. Many of these stories have never reached the Western ear as they are not allowed to be discussed or told outside the tribe, even if it means the historic legions die off. Uluru is an isolated rock that stands 346 meters high and more than 8 km (5 miles) around. Long and rugged, it stretches for over 2 miles in length and nearly 2 miles in width. It is a completely bare rock with barely any vegetation, which adds to its mysterious beauty.However, around the other side of the rock, the base is nourished by rain runoff from Uluru and is a fertile oasis of water pools, rich greenery and a variety of wildlife. It is thus an ideal ceremonial site for the Aborigines, who camp in the caves and are sustained by the water and available food. Many of these sections are closed off and to this day unseen by Western explorers. While the Anangu do not climb Uluru because of its great sacredness and history, visitors do have the option of climbing the massive stone since it is leased to the Australia as a national park. Aboriginals do request that visitors refrain from climbing it and have posted a sign at the base outlining his significance and danger. Tourists climb the rock each year, but as signs point out, it’s no easy task and some have even died in the attempt. The steep climb to the top of Ayers Rock takes over an hour in hot desert conditions. A reasonable level of fitness, proper clothing, and plenty of water are necessary.