Kata Tjuta

About 25 km from the famous Uluru is another sacred rock formation known as Kata Tjuta (“many heads”), also known as the Olgas (named for Queen Olga of Württemberg in 1872).

Kata Tjuta is a circular grouping of some 36 rounded red rocks rising from the desert plains, which cover an area of 11 square miles (28 square km). The highest is Mt. Olga, which rises 1,500 feet (460 m) above the plain and 3,507 feet above sea level.

Like Uluru, the Olgas are sacred to the Anangu and provide visitors with a dazzling show of color as the sun crosses the sky throughout the day. Luxurious vegetation grows in deep clefts between the domes.

Kata Tjuta is far less frequented by tourists than Uluru, and thus provides a more serene place of meditation and ceremony for the Aborigines. They follow the paths through the domes, singing traditional songs and telling stories about Dreamtime.