You'll jump for joy when you clap eyes on Uluru

Despite its overexposure in oodles of tourist brochures, Australia's most visited site rarely fails to floor those who clap eyes on it.

This 3.6km-long, 348-metre-high monolith rises from the dusty desert plain of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in the Northern Territory, glowing a brilliant red as the sun sets.

Climbing Ayres Rock (renamed Uluru by its traditional owners) is discouraged due to safety concerns and out of respect for the Anangu people, for whom the rock is sacred.

The Uluru-Kata Tjuta Cultural Centre, located one kilometre from the rock, has some good displays on Uluru's significance and the beliefs and lifestyle of its traditional owners.

For those wanting to exercise more than their camera-clicking finger, it is possible to hike around the rock's 10km circumference.

Many people visit Uluru as part of a camping trip from Alice Springs, also taking in Kata Tjuta (the Olgas) - a series of domed rock formations about 30km west of Uluru.