Breathtaking Landscapes of Australia

Uluru: One of Australia’s many UNESCO World Heritage Sites and a sacred place for the Anangu Aboriginal people, Uluru is one of the most famous natural formations on this list. Rising out of the flat Outback Desert, Uluru is a large area of red sandstone that is visible from a great distance away. It’s also part of a national park, where you can also find things like caves, springs, and ancient paintings. At 450 kilometres (280 miles) away from the nearest town, Alice Springs, Uluru is quite the trip but an entirely worthwhile one.

The Bay of Fires: At first glance, the Bay of Fires (or Iarapuna in the language of the indigenous people) in Tasmania is a pristine beach with blue water, white sand, and green surroundings. When you look more closely, you realize that the rocks on the beach are glowing orange like fire. It’s not actually on fire of course. It’s just that the lichen living in this particular area has an orange colour that makes the rocks shine. The bay got its name in 1773 when Captain Tobias Furneaux saw the rocks and some nearby campfires that Aboriginal people had made.

The Blue Mountains: Just outside of Sydney, the Blue Mountains are an ideal place for a day trip if you’re visiting the city. You might want to stay longer, though, because of how stunningly gorgeous they are. Perhaps the most impressive is the Three Sisters formation, a group of three sandstone columns that have been slowly eroded over millennia. There’s a legend that also describes their formation, however. Three sisters fell in love with three men from another tribe, which was outlawed, and fighting ensued. An elder turned the girls into stone, but when he was killed in the fighting, no one could turn them back.