The hike to Mount Sonder’s (Rwetyepme) 1380 metre pinnacle is about five hours return from Redbank Gorge (156 kilometres west of Alice Springs), a journey many do with the aid of a head torch in order to arrive at sunrise, a worthy reward for the unholy 4am wake-up call you’ll need to make it. Peak conquered, spend the morning lolling in the cool water of Redbank, enclosed by craggy red rock walls.

With its permanent waterhole, Simpsons Gap is an important site for the Arrernte people and is where several dreaming trails and stories intersect. Hire a bicycle from Outback Cycling and pedal 17 kilometres along the Simpsons Gap Bike Path to arrive at dawn or dusk. This is when the chasm between the towering red cliffs of Simpson’s Range is spectacular and when you’re most likely to spot a rock wallaby.

A new way to witness Uluru is Wintjiri Wiru. An open-air desert theatre welcomes guests with cocktails and canapés as the sinking sun sets desert colours ablaze. As Uluru and Kata Tjuta turn dark, guests enjoy a gourmet hamper (think smoked emu with saltbush crust and bush tomato dip) before lasers, drones and projections illuminate the desert in a modern interpretation of an ancient Anangu dreaming story. 

Ormiston Gorge is the Red Centre’s version of the community pool, albeit one hemmed by jagged red rocks. Drive 135 kilometres west of Alice into Tjoritja/West MacDonnell National Park and do the 2.5 kilometre Ghost Gum Walk for epic views over the gorge or just stroll 300 metres to the water’s edge. There are bathrooms and plenty of sandy spots to set up – bring a picnic and take note: the water is chilly year-round, promising an ultra-refreshing dip for swimmers.

In the East MacDonnell Ranges 110 kilometres from Alice Springs is Central Australia’s first major European settlement. Gold was found in Arltunga in 1887 and a township was established that once supported 3000 people. The abandoned town is part of the 5000-hectare Arltunga Historical Reserve where visitors can explore stone buildings, camps and even defunct mines.  

Hermannsburg pottery is instantly recognisable for its distinctive, colourful style representing community life. A First Nations art cooperative, the Hermannsburg Potters work at Hermannsburg, a former Lutheran mission first established in 1877 roughly an hour and 20 minutes drive from Alice Springs. Visit the workshop then wander the historical precinct with its German-style 19th-century buildings and finish with a German apple strudel at Kata Anga Tea Rooms (reopening from April 2024)

Over thousands of years, floodwaters carved out Ellery Big Hole, one of Alice’s most magical swimming spots, an hour’s drive west of Alice Springs. Make it a daytrip or camp overnight to watch the sunrise over the gorge (there are barbecues, shelters, showers and toilets in the vicinity). After a super-refreshing dip? The water is always bracingly cold – quite the contrast to the blazing heat.

Locals have a tendency to immediately begin recommending dishes when told of a prospective visit to Hanuman. Standing in the lobby of Doubletree by Hilton Alice Springs, Hanuman is perpetually packed with dusty desert returnees and hotel guests, thanks to its deeply flavoured Indian, Thai and Nonya-inspired dishes. High on the list? Trumpet mushrooms topped with pork and prawn and cinnamon-warm Madras goat curry.

Play spot-the-camel while alternating between marvelling at Uluru, the sacred ranges of Kata Tjuta and the incomprehensibly large salt flats of Lake Amadeus from on high. An hour-long Lizard Safari chopper tour allows you to grasp the vastness of the landscape, the remarkable monolith at its centre and the arid beauty of the desert. 

Words such as “epic” can’t help but belong in any description of the 223-kilometre Larapinta Trail. Expect blisters and battered boots on the multi-day hike; made up of 12 sections where two are designated “very hard” and six are labelled as “hard” – even without the tag, none are “easy”. To temper the hard hiking, there are blooming desert roses, night skies blanketed with stars and deserted waterholes which promise the best swim of your life

Alice Springs Desert Park guide James isn’t a fan of cats. That’s something he makes abundantly clear as he leads groups of head-torched visitors on the Mulga Walk under cover of darkness. The park is enclosed, keeping said predators out and allowing some small, very secretive local marsupials to thrive, including bilbies, desert mice and malas – tiny and adorable.

A cool (literally – the arcade diners are misted with water in the dry heat) café, Page 27 (3 Fan Arcade) offers excellent coffee, a menu of modern, inventive breakfast and lunch dishes and eclectic decor that’s part steam-punk, part vintage store. Try the mushroom Florentine (with hollandaise) or a soba noodle bowl with salmon and avocado.

As far as quirky outback stays go, Ooraminna is up there. About 30 minutes’ drive outside town, the 242-hectare property is home to cattle, a bemused Scottish deerhound called Scruffy Coco and accommodation including a glamping tent, campsite and four cabins. Its most interesting attribute is its abandoned film set, an ersatz outback town complete with pub and cop-shop, seen everywhere from MasterChef to The Bachelor (US).

Devise your own art itinerary to explore Alice Springs’ cooperatives, galleries and shops. The Araluen Arts Centre is a repository of Indigenous art – if they’re not displayed, ask curator Felicity Green to show you the Namatjiras in the back room. Don’t miss Tjanpi Desert Weavers’ woven pieces from earrings to sculptural dingoes; and Iltja Ntjarra (Many Hands) Art Centre, a not-for-profit committed to maintaining cultural connections of Western Arrernte artists.

Alice Springs turns dedicated night owls into morning larks. So incredible is the rising sun from various vantage points that you won’t want to miss a single dawn. One of the best ways to experience it is from a hot air balloon with Outback Ballooning. The several-hour-long drift through the brightening desert skies concludes with an outback picnic of sparkling wine and snacks. 

The Most Magical Things to See in the Northern Territory