7 Incredible Alice Springs to Uluṟu Tours You'll Want To Try

From quick day trips to immersive multi-day adventures, these tours from Alice Springs to Uluṟu promise an unforgettable adventure.

Touring the Red Centre serves up eye-popping beauty at every turn. Whether you’re seeking a sophisticated Alice Springs to Uluṟu tour with top-notch hotel service or an action-packed experience where you sleep in a swag under the desert sky, there are a bunch of excellent tours out there.

1. Emu Run Experience

Ideal for those short on time but eager to witness the splendour of Uluru, Emu Run Experience offers an action-packed day tour that kicks off at 6am from your Alice Springs accommodation and travels to Uluṟu, while you listen to intriguing stories along the way.

Guide leads a group on the Mala Walk at Uluru

The Mala Walk is a powerful experience to have at Uluru. (Image: Tourism NT/Tourism Australia)

In the late afternoon, your guide will take you on the Mala Walk, which travels around the north-west side of Uluṟu where you can view Anangu rock art. Then travel by coach to another section of Uluṟu and start a guided walk to the Mutitjulu Waterhole.

Before you set off to Alice Springs, you’ll be treated to a sunset viewing with a glass of bubbly and an Aussie barbeque. This trip is also available for pick up or drop off from the Ayers Rock Resort.

2. Wayoutback Australian Safaris

For those looking to connect with nature, Wayoutback Australian Safaris offers a three-day camping safari that combines the adventure of outback camping with the awe-inspiring sights of Uluṟu, Kings Canyon and Kata Tjuta.

three people walking along the grass, Wayoutback Australian Safaris

Connect with nature on a tour with Wayoutback Australian Safaris. (Image: Tourism NT)

For your accommodation, you can pick from cosy safari tents or a traditional swag experience where you’ll sleep under the stars on a canvas-covered bed roll.

three people walking under a rock formation, Wayoutback Australian Safaris

See the awe-inspiring sights of Uluṟu, Kings Canyon and Kata Tjuta. (Image: Tourism NT)

3. Intrepid Travel

For the fun-lover, Intrepid Travel’s Uluṟu & Kings Canyon Adventure is a four-day action-packed journey that takes you from Alice Springs through the captivating landscapes of the Red Centre to Uluṟu and back to your starting point.

exploring across the rock formations in Uluru with Intrepid Travel

Intrepid Travel’s Uluṟu & Kings Canyon Adventure takes you from Alice Springs through the Red Centre to Uluṟu.

The itinerary includes viewing the changing colours of Uluṟu at sunset and sunrise, exploring the mystical domes of Kata Tjuta, and delving into the cultural significance of these sacred sites with an Aboriginal guide.

Group gathers at sunset with a wine in hand on an Intrepid tour of the Red Centre

Enjoy a sunset viewing with a glass of wine.

At night, you will sleep in tents with comfy stretcher beds and sleeping bags, with shared bathroom facilities a short walk away. For a non-camping, longer trip to Uluṟu, Intrepid Travel has a six-day adventure. Check out the variety of Uluru itineraries here.

a couple sitting outside their tent, Intrepid Travel

Go off-grid and sleep under the stars.

4. AAT Kings – Uluṟu & Kata Tjuta Explorer

If you prefer to sleep surrounded by four walls rather than under the canvas, AAT Kings offers Uluṟu and Kata Tjuta Highlights, a two-day tour that showcases the grandeur of Uluṟu and takes you to the rock formations of Kata Tjuta.

an aerial view of the Uluru tour with AAT Kings

Tour around Uluṟu with AAT Kings. (Image: Tourism NT/Tourism Australia)

Depending on your budget, you can choose to sleep in the Outback Hotel & Lodge, Desert Gardens, Sails in the Desert Hotel or Ayres Rock Resort.

The grandeur of Kata Tjuta (the Olgas) will leave you in awe. (Image: Tourism NT/Tourism Australia)

AAT Kings also offers transfers from Alice Springs to Uluṟu and vice versa and from Uluṟu to the Ayres Rock Airport, so you could travel by coach one way and fly the other.

a group of travellers at Kata Tjuta tour with AAT Kings

AAT Kings offers a two-day tour showcasing the wonders of Uluṟu and Kata Tjuta. (Image: Tourism NT/Tourism Australia)

5. SEIT Outback Australia

If you’re already in Uluṟu, SEIT Tours offers trips from Ayers Rock Resort that provide an in-depth understanding of the area’s Aboriginal heritage, rock art and traditional stories.

Delve into the cultural significance of Uluṟu on tour with SEIT. (Image: Tourism NT/The Salty Travellers)

Pick from the six-hour Uluṟu trek or the shorter Uluru highlights, where you will visit Mutijulu Waterhole on the Kuniya Walk and learn the Creation stories of Liru (poisonous snake) and Kuniya (python).

If you want to have a truly uniqueexperience, opt for SEIT’s Patji Homelands Tour. An Aboriginal guide will take you onto Aboriginal Lands, otherwise out-of-bounds for visitors. You’ll learn about the personal story of the Uluṟu family, while on their Traditional Lands. It’s a truly special tour that will leave visitors with a deep appreciation for the landscape and the stories held within it.

6. Alice Springs Expeditions

If you want to look into arranging your own small group bespoke tour take a look at Alice Springs Expeditions. Host John Stafford has in-depth knowledge of Central Australia and has years of experience coordinating travel logistics for special interest tours, such as media events, art trail tours and car launches.

a 4WD entering Finke Gorge National Park

Craft a bespoke tour with Alice Springs Expeditions. (Image: Tourism Australia/ Shaana McNaught)

Tours take adventurers off the beaten track, so be prepared to sleep under the stars in a swag with cotton sheets inside a sleeping bag.

two people sitting in front of a bonfire in a camp, Alice Springs Expeditions

Nights are spent around the campfire before drifting off to sleep in a swag. (Image: Tourism Australia/ Shaana McNaught)

7. Art Tours of Australia

What better way to immerse youself in the landscape than painting it? Artist and guide Anna Dakin of Art Tours of Australia takes guests on art-inspired excursions across the Red Centre to learn and create. The 5-day Art and Culture Adventure begins at Alice Springs and takes in Uluṟu, where guests will take part in an Aṉangu-led dot painting class. A paintbrush is never too far out of reach – there are regular watercolour painting sessions hosted by Anna, where you’ll render the beautiful landscapes infront of you as you travel between Alice Springs and Uluṟu.

Anna Dakin runs Art Tours of Australia, taking visitors on art-focused excursions through the outback and Uluru.

For more incredible ways to explore the region, read our travel guide to Alice Springs.

Each April, Parrtjima turns the landscape around Alice Springs (Mparntwe) into a virtual canvas with large-scale light installations that adorn the ancient slopes of the MacDonnell Ranges.

This annual 10-night celebration of Aboriginal art and culture also features performances, talks, films, a meandering six-metre-high puppet, and the Buy Blak Market, as well as nightly projections against the 300-million-year-old MacDonnell Ranges. The next Parrtjima: A Festival in Light runs from 4 to 13 April 2025 and will feature the first open-air performance by Darwin Symphony Orchestra. It will be the milestone 10th edition of the festival, so expect an extra-special celebration.

The theme of the upcoming festival is Timelessness, a nod to the enduring connection Aboriginal people have to culture, art and stories that span thousands of years. Here’s everything you need to know before you see it with your own eyes.

the MacDonnell Ranges Light Show during the Parrtjima

See nightly projections against the 300-million-year-old MacDonnell Ranges. (Image: Parrtjima)

What is Parrtjima?

Since its debut in 2016, visitors from across Australia have been drawn to this celebration of Aboriginal culture, which lights up the night sky above Alice Springs Desert Park (ASDP).

the GUTS dance cultural performance at Parrtjima

Witness empowering cultural performances. (Image: Parrtjima)

Each year the event celebrates the ways in which local artists experiment with styles and mediums. Artworks are curated from submissions from the area’s Aboriginal art centres and independent artists and assessed for cultural appropriateness by the Parrtjima Festival Reference Group, a network of senior Arrernte Elders. The creative team then incorporates the approved artworks into the festival’s program; the paintings are turned into large-scale illuminated installations that light up the desert.

A mother and son experience the Arelhe Urrperle Erth Puppet at Parrtjima 2024

The giant Arelhe Urrperle Erth Puppet wanders around the festival. (Image: Parrtjima)

Parrtjima (pronounced Par-Chee-ma) means ‘lighting up’ and conveys two meanings: physically illuminating an object with light and ‘lighting up’ as in to shed light and understanding on a subject. The festival is delivered by Northern Territory Major Events Company and produced by creative experience design studio Grumpy Sailor.

Engaging talks and performances are all part of the festival.

What’s the significance of Parrtjima?

Parrtjima Curator Rhoda Roberts AO says the festival offers visitors a unique opportunity to listen, learn and interconnect.

“This is a real opportunity to listen to and learn from some of Australia’s top First Nations voices, and that’s what the spirit of Parrtjima is all about. Listening, learning and interconnecting to better understand each other.”

Ms Roberts says that to this day the most wonderful things still happen out of interconnectedness.

“Interconnectedness blankets the wisdom of generations. At Parrtjima, we are reminded by our hosts, the Arrernte people, that culture is everything to experience and absorb.”

Parrtjima Curator Rhoda Roberts AO, speaks of the importance of the festival. (Image: Parrtjima)

What to expect at Parrtjima

The MacDonnell Ranges are usually majestic enough but imagine them brought to life with a spectacular light show that reflects the colours and movement of the planting seasons and kwatye (water).

The lightshow on the MacDonnell Ranges for Parrtjima 2024

MacDonnell Ranges lights up during the Parrtjima festival. (Image: Parrtjima)

The crowd favourite, Grounded, is a giant, seamless canvas of animated artworks by Central and Western Desert region artists brought to life using the latest technology. It is like a magical carpet spreading across the desert floor that echoes the sand ceremonies enacted seasonally in Aboriginal culture.

Grounded, is a giant, seamless canvas of animated artworks. (Image: Parrtjima)

One of the newest additions to the program is a large-scale light and art installation called Tjoritja Cockatoos, where you can hear the chatter of black cockatoos as Vanessa Inkamala’s art, in the style of the Hermannsburg School of watercolour, is brought to life through animation and sound.

Vanessa Inkamala’s art is brought to life through animation and sound in Tjoritja Cockatoos. (Image: Parrtjima)

Each year, the festival showcases live music by Aboriginal musicians, free films, performance art, and stories told and shared in and around Todd Mall in central Alice Springs and the Desert Park at the base of the West MacDonnell Ranges.

the Arelhe Urrperle Erth Puppet at Parrtjima 2024

Arelhe Urrperle is a six-metre-high Erth puppet at Parrtjima. (Image: Steven Woodburn)

Children play with the props as part of the Arelhe Urrperle installation. (Image: Parrtjima)

Cultural workshops have also been hosted across the festival, allowing visitors to learn how to make a spear, discover the secrets of the ancient Arrernte language, or create their own artworks and sculptures.

A couple explore the light installation at Parrtjima 2024

Get up close to the light installations. (Image: Parrtjima)

How to travel to Alice Springs to see Parrtjima

Alice Springs is only a few hours’ flying time from most Australian capital cities. Qantas and Jetstar run daily direct flights from all capital cities (except Perth). Virgin also flies from most capital cities to Alice Springs.

The Stuart Highway is the main road link to Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. From Alice Springs to Uluru it is 450 kilometres and Alice Springs to Darwin is 1,500 kilometres.

People gather at the food trucks during Parrtjima 2024

Gather around for a night filled with art, music and entertainment. (Image: Parrtjima)

Book a bed or pitch a tent in Alice Springs. From motel rooms, campgrounds and B&Bs to hotels and award-winning resorts, there is plenty of accommodation available to suit your budget and taste.

While the festival is free, you will need to register for entry to Parrtjima – A Festival in Light. Registration opens on November 15, 2024 with costed tickets for a special closing weekend performance by Darwin Symphony Orchestra — the first orchestral performance in Parrtjima’s decade-long history also released the same day.

7 incredible Alice Springs to Uluru tours you’ll want to try