Alice Springs tourist information
Alice Springs, nestled between the MacDonnell Ranges in the heart of Australia, is our most famous outback town.
Situated 462km from Ayers Rock/Uluru and positioned between the East and West MacDonnell Ranges, Alice Springs makes both a great touring base and a great holiday destination. Plan to spend as much time as possible here because as well as a complete range of services and a dazzling array of quality hotels and restaurants, there is so much to see and do.
More often than not, this out-of -the-ordinary outback community pleasantly surprises visitors. The Alice defies the expectations of a desert town, combining a strong sense of its own heritage with all the convenience of modern facilities and activities.
This is no flat, dusty, barren townscape. Picture instead brilliantly-hued ranges, gardens landscaped with stunning arid-zone flora, appropriately-designed houses and other buildings, an attractive mall, an elegant casino, all the major banks and excellent cafes and restaurants. Feel like a seafood meal? No problem - one local restaurateur, who claims Alice is the closest point to every beach in Australia, flies in fresh seafood regularly. Or what about camel, buffalo, emu, rabbit or kangaroo?
Alice encompasses a number of major shopping precincts including supermarkets and specialty shops. And, yes, there are traffic lights - but you'd be hard-pressed to find a traffic jam.
The Alice offers a myriad of activities: the new Desert Park , featuring unique ways to get to know the arid zone's flora and fauna; shops specialising in Aboriginal arts and crafts, textiles, pottery and souvenirs; museums; art galleries; food and craft markets; working cattle stations and even a winery. The Arrernte people share their culture at the Aboriginal Art and Culture Centre , where visitors can learn to play a didgeridoo, throw a boomerang, discover some of the symbolism of Central Australian dot paintings, or experiment with bush tucker.
Many activities available in Alice Springs, such as a visit to the Royal Flying Doctor Service or the School of the Air , are reminders that the Outback is vast; and many Territorians live a long way from schools and medical facilities. Others, such as camel tours and the Alice Springs Telegraph Station , reflect the Alice's pioneering heritage, when Afghan cameleers and workers on the Overland Telegraph Line in the 1870s helped to open up the Outback.
The superb desert climate allows Alice Springs residents to participate in many outdoor sporting and recreational pursuits, each supported by quality facilities. The Alice has one of the world's best desert golf courses and, like Darwin, it has an extensive network of bicycle tracks.
Surprisingly, Alice Springs is also the centre for a date industry worth a potential $40 million annually, and nearby Ti Tree and Pine Hill support thriving fruit, vegetable and cut flower enterprises. Central Australian table grape production is worth $7 million a year.
The original Alice Springs is still there, named after the wife of Sir Charles Todd, the postmaster general of South Australia. The waterhole was the deciding factor in the location of the Overland Telegraph Station in the 1870s, and eventually led to the establishment of the township. The town was known as Stuart until 1933, when it officially became Alice Springs - with a population of just 400.
by Northern Territory Tourist Commission
Alice Springs aerial map
Please click on any icon on the Alice Springs aerial tourist map, to find close by places, offering hotels and tourist information. You can zoom in and zoom out our touristical map as well as switch between satelite and map view of Alice Springs.
Alice Springs weather forecast
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