Travel Icon: Uluru (Ayers Rock)

The undisputed heart of Australia, Uluru – sometimes known as Ayers Rock – seems to float on an ocean of coloured lights. It is timeless majesty.

Sacred, eternal, unmissable in every sense, Uluru is the 348m rock formation that dominates the landscape of Australia’s Red Centre – geographically and spiritually at the heart of the nation. So how do you complement an international icon? The Field of Light installation, by acclaimed artist Bruce Munro, comprises 50,000 solar-powered lights that offer a unique counterpoint to the star-filled night sky over the monumental rock.

Uluru is held sacred by the Aboriginal people of Australia’s Northern Territory, and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Best viewed at dawn or dusk, when the sandstone glows red, it has long been a key element of any Australian holiday. Now, with Munro’s radiant glass spheres planted as far as the eye can see before its inspiring silhouette, Uluru comes to life each night, embraced by vibrant colour.

Says the artist of his work: “I saw in my mind a landscape of illuminated stems that, like dormant seed in a dry desert, quietly wait until darkness falls – to bloom with gentle rhythms of light.”

A trip out to Uluru, or Ayers Rock, is an essential, once-in-a-lifetime experience for any global traveller new to Australia. The Field of Light art installation will be in place until March 2018.