Alice Springs

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Start your outback adventure in the heart of Australia’s Red Centre.- Alice Springs, which began its modern history as Stuart, a telegraph station on the Adelaide to Darwin line, and the end of the Ghan railway. Alice sits in Australia’s red heart just 200 kilometres south of its geographic centre. From here you can sail over the spinifex plains in a hot air balloon or join a safari across the desert or fly over the MacDonnell Ranges. Peer into the traditions of the Aboriginal Arrernte people who have lived here for 20,000 years. This rollicking, modern town is also a day trip from the iconic attractions of Uluru-Kata Tjuta and Kings Canyon.
Things to do in a town Alice Springs and Red Centre

1. Discover desert adventure
From Alice Springs you can trek the Larapinta Trail, go four-wheel driving, camp in the bush and swim in lush waterholes. Sail over the spinifex plains in a hot air balloon, ride to Simpson’s Gap or join a safari through bush tracks. Take a scenic flight over rugged mountain ranges or ride a camel along the gum-lined Todd River. Four wheel the vast, flat, red landscape of the notorious Tanami Track. Alice’s dry climate and desert landscapes make the call to outback adventure hard to resist.

2. Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park
With the sun climbing in the morning sky, travel to the western section of Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park to the immense 36 rock domes of Kata Tjuta. Learn of the domes’ formation and of the wildlife of the region. Some of the plants you will see here are so rare that they are only found among these rocky domes. Walk around Uluru’s base with an Anangu guide, and learn how it was created by spirit ancestors in the Dreamtime. Or take guided 2-3 hour walk through the Valley of the Winds in the afternoon. After the walk, take in a magnificent 'outback' sunset over Kata Tjuta with a glass of sparkling wine and nibbles, then travel to the exclusive barbecue venue to enjoy a traditional Australian barbecue dinner consisting of steak, sausages, kangaroo meat, salads and bread, complemented by Australian sparkling wine. There is time for stargazing too (weather permitting).

3. Kings Canyon and Watarrka National Park
Trek to the rim of Kings Canyon for breathtaking views across the rugged bluffs and gorges of Watarrka National Park. The canyon’s towering rock walls shelter palm-filled crevices and pockets of lush green in otherwise inhospitable desert. See rare plants from a lone-gone wetter age and swim in the tropical pools of the Garden of Eden. Explore the weathered rock domes of the Lost City. See sunset at Carmichael Crag, take the Kathleen Springs Walk to a pretty waterhole or trek overnight on the Giles Track.

4. Escape to the MacDonnell Ranges
Trek through Ormiston Gorge and Pound, visit breathtaking Glen Helen Gorge and see where a comet crashed into the earth millions of years ago at Gosse Bluff. In the West MacDonnell Ranges, you can see rock wallabies in the ridges of Simpsons Gap and Standley Chasm turn fiery colours in the midday sun. In the East MacDonnell Ranges, go bush walking, camping and four-wheel-driving, visit the gold rush ghost town of Arltunga and explore the natural beauty of Trephina Gorge.

5. Explore the Simpson Desert
Visit the scenic sandstone bluffs and cliffs of Rainbow Valley in the James Ranges. See markings made by 19th century explorers on Chambers Pillar and sacred Arrernte rock carvings in the Ewaninga Rock Carvings Conservation Reserve. Buy Aboriginal art in the desert communities of Titjikala and St Teresa. You’ll be awestruck by natural, cultural and historical wonders of the Simpson Desert, which stretches south from Alice Springs towards the South Australia border. When planning keep in mind the park is closed during the summer months due to intense heat.

6. Immerse yourself in Aboriginal art
Visit the Albert Namatjira Gallery, peek into the traditions of the Arrernte people at the Strehlow Centre and browse contemporary Aboriginal art along pedestrian-only Todd Mall. You can buy central Australian art at competitive prices at the Desert Mob Festival in August/September. From desert landscapes in water colours to dot paintings of the seasons, Alice Springs is bright with Aboriginal art.