Uluru, a sacred sandstone rock formation in Australia’s Northern Territory, is a major tourist attraction despite its remote location. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has been important to native Aboriginal people for generations. The area was returned to the Aboriginal people in 1985, but permission to climb the formation remains. The influx of tourists has led to environmental issues and a struggle for the two cultures to manage the land.
Considered sacred by native Aboriginal Australians, Uluru is a gigantic sandstone rock formation 1,142 meters high. Uluru is the Aboriginal name given to the rock formation; it is also sometimes known by its English name of Ayer’s Rock. It is one of Australia’s most famous geological features and is a major tourist attraction despite its remote location. The formation is located in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in Australia’s Northern Territory, 348 miles (208 kilometers) away from the nearest town, Alice Springs.
Uluru’s unique appearance is the result of thousands of years of erosion. The gigantic sandstone formation is known as inselberg or island mountain, and is all that remains of a once great mountain range. Uluru has been an important place for native Aboriginal people for many generations, and modern explorers have discovered tribal artefacts in the region that date back more than 10,000 years. However, white explorers were unaware of the formation until the 1870s.
The first tourists began venturing to Uluru around 1936, though travel to the area didn’t become common until 1948, when a road was built. The area subsequently became a major destination for Australian and foreign explorers and tour bus services were launched to support the growing tourism industry. However, increased tourism has led to environmental issues, forcing a decision to remove motels and campgrounds from the park area itself and relocate them beyond the park boundaries.
In 1985, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park was returned to the native Aboriginal people of the area, under the condition that the tribe lease the land to the National Parks and Wildlife Agency until 2084, under the joint management of the tribe and the ‘agency. Although the natives dislike it when people scale the formation and see it as disrespectful of the sacred land, permission for visitors to climb parts of Uluru was made a condition when the land was returned to the tribe. Aboriginal people also have beliefs against photography of some parts of Uluru, due to tribal rituals; against these beliefs, several areas are considered off-limits for photography.
Uluru has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Today it receives over 400,000 visitors each year, attracted by the beauty of its colours, which seem to change with the position of the sun in the sky. Although the Australian government has returned ownership of the land to Aboriginal people, there remains a constant struggle for the two cultures to manage the land and deal with the influx of tourists.
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