It's easy to see why the Aborigines attach spiritual significance to Uluru (Ayers Rock). It's an awe-inspiring sight, rising above the plain and dramatically changing color throughout the day. The Anangu people are the traditional owners of the land around Uluru and Kata Tjuta. They believe they are direct descendants of the beings -- which include a python, an emu, a blue-tongue lizard, and a poisonous snake -- who formed the land and its physical features during the Tjukurpa (the "Dreamtime," or creation period). Tjukurpa also refers to the Anangu religion, law, and moral system, a knowledge of past and present handed down from memory through stories and other oral traditions.

Rising more than 1,100 feet from the surrounding plain, Uluru is one of the world's largest monoliths, though such a clinical classification belies the otherworldly, spiritual energy surrounding it. Much of that may stem from its historical use as a sacred site to the Aborigines, and from that a great controversy has arisen over whether it's appropriate to climb the rock. The Anangu people have politely requested that visitors not scale Uluru, but the fact that thousands of tourists wish to do so every year means that if you want to make the climb, there is a well-marked path that will help you do it.

Kata Tjuta (the Olgas), 53 km (33 mi) west, is a series of 36 gigantic rock domes hiding a maze of fascinating gorges and crevasses. The names Ayers Rock and the Olgas are used out of familiarity alone; at the sites themselves, the Aboriginal Uluru and Kata Tjuta are the respective names of preference. The entire area region is called Yulara, though the airport is still known as Ayers Rock.

Uluru and Kata Tjuta have very different compositions. Monolithic Uluru is a type of sandstone called arkose, while the rock domes at Kata Tjuta are composed of conglomerate. It was once thought that they rested upon the sandy terrain like pebbles; however, both formations are the tips of tilted rock strata that extend thousands of yards into the earth. The rock strata tilted during a period of intense geological activity more than 300 million years ago -- the arkose by nearly 90 degrees and the conglomerate only about 15 degrees. The surrounding rock fractured and quickly eroded about 40 million years ago, leaving the present structures standing as separate entities. But this is just one, albeit scientific, interpretation -- an Aboriginal guide can relate the ancient creation stories of the rock, which are just as interesting.

Both of these intriguing sights lie within Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, which is protected as a World Heritage Site. As such, it's one of just a few parks in the world recognized in this way for both its landscape and cultural values. The whole experience is a bit like seeing the Grand Canyon turned inside out, and a visit here will be remembered for a lifetime.