Ayers Rock and The Olgas dazzling in different lights

Nature
The wow factor for nature - does it show nature at its best? Doesn't need to be the wildebeest migration or diving with hundreds of hammerheads. Rather make you pause as you realise just how awesome the natural world can be
9
Culture
How much does this experience showcase some of the better and finer things that us humans can offer? Sure, it can be ancient ruins and renaissance churches, but it can also be festivals or soaking up some of the great modern cities of the world
7
Fun factor/activity
Very simple - was it fun? This is usually linked in with doing some kind of activity - i mean, walking along some cliffs is nice, but paragliding from them, now that is fun. Its a vastly underrated factor in a truly great experience
5
Avoid the crowds
Big tour groups and being surrounded by loud fellow tourists can sap the life out of even the greatest of travel experiences. This score is to reflect just how much you can avoid this. But. . . The score also takes into account if the crowds actually add to the experience, such as with a party town or a bustling local market
4
World famous
How world famous is the experience?
10
unique
How hard is it to have a similar experience in other places round the world?
10
Overall TE Score
The overall travel experiences score:  fun factor + avoid the crowds + (best of nature or culture) + (best of world famous or unique). Then convert into a score out of 100
70 *What the scores mean and where do they come from
RANKING
How this travel experience ranks compared to all the other experiences on this site, based on the travel experience (te) score
157th/454
Top 40%
continent
Oceania
country
Australia
Length of time
1-2 days
Typical daily price
This gives you a rough idea of the daily price based on 2 people travelling where they can split costs like accommodation. It excludes travel there and back, and factors in inflation the numbers in brackets show the price range for the full time of the experience (so not necessarily daily). It is a range to reflect different budget vs higher end
$60 (typically $20 - $100)
Time of year visited
December
Primary Tags
Click on any of the tags to see all travel experiences with the same tag
Red deserts Sunrise Sunsets
All Tags
Camping Cliffs Desert Driving Isolation UNESCO world heritage site
Wow Factor
The wow factor reflects just how much you’re likely to say “wow”. As there’s a lot of experiences in the world, and a lot of wows, i’ve gone with a simple ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️ score, and a separate category for the truly "gash"
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Summary

It’s a big rock in the middle of the desert.  Famous, for sure, but just a big rock . . . right?  This is the general view of many people who haven’t visited Uluru – Ayers Rock – before.  In reality, the experience offers so much more:

 

#1 The rock itself is just huge – 3.6km / 2.2miles long, rising 348m / 1140ft up, and, with two-thirds of the rock still lying beneath the sand, it is the largest single monolith in the world.  So, simply staring at it from close or afar is an experience you won’t forget in a hurry.

#2 The rock gives the mesmerising impression of changing colours through the day from red to orange to purple, and the changes are surprisingly dramatic – enough to make you gasp looking back at your photos, especially for sunrise and sunset

#3 The site is not only about Uluru (Ayers Rock).  35km / 22miles from Uluru are Kata Tjuta (the Olgas) – domed rocks that are actually taller than Uluru, typically a bit less busy and no less impressive

#4 So much of the trip is about being in the red centre of Australia – the red sand, big skies, Aboriginal culture, sapping heat and general feeling of adventure.  A great feeling.

 

Overall, a superb experience and a truly Australian one

 

Only one tip – I wish I’d cycled around Uluru.  It’s only around 15km / 9miles all the way round, including stops right next to the rock itself.  Would really add to the “fun factor”.

 

 

 

Highlights

uluru2-aspect-ratio-900-675

#1 Staring at this magnificent rock / giant monolith / cultural centre / world famous site and watching its mesmerising colours change throughout the day

olgas-aspect-ratio-900-675

#2 The nearby Olgas - collectively larger than Ayers Rock and no less impressive

red-aspect-ratio-900-675

#3 Being in Australia's Red centre with its oppressive heat, red sand and adventure of it all

uluru-close-aspect-ratio-900-675

#4 Up close and personal with the rock and seeing it dauntingly leaning above you with its at times impossibly steep slopes

Experiences Nearby

The below map shows experiences nearby with a colour that reflect the Overall Score of those experiences

Other Red Desert Experiences around the World

4WDing around Wadi Rum and spending a night in a desert camp
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Exploring Petra in winter
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A day walking through Arches National Park
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Hiking through the Charyn Canyon and staying overnight in yurts
⭐⭐

Exploring the Lunar Valley and San Pedro de Atacama
⭐⭐

The perfect western cowboy set at Monument Valley
⭐⭐⭐

Looking across the Grand Canyon
⭐⭐⭐

Camping in otherworldly Karijini National Park
⭐⭐⭐⭐

The red desert dunes of Sossusvlei
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Score Detail

The scores above are the real point of this site.

Over 20+ years and 100+ countries, I’ve tried to rank the world’s best travel experiences — from genuinely mind-blowing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to the properly gash.

Every one of the 500+ places on this site has both a Wow Factor rating and a more analytical Travel Experience (TE) score based on the things that actually make travel memorable.

If you're curious about the thinking behind it, head to the About page.

Otherwise, explore the map above or on the Home page and see which places truly deliver maximum wow.

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