The rock is a so-called monolith, i.e. a single piece of rock or a giant boulder, extending about 5 km beneath the desert plain and measuring 3.6 by 2.4 km at the surface. It rises 348 meters above the plain and has a circumference of just under 10 km. The rock also extends some 1.5 miles underground.

An interesting feature of Uluru is how it changes colors during the day, and over the course of the year. The sandstone of the rock contains reflective minerals that react differently to the varying positions of the sun, thus causing the surface to radiate different colors. Sunrise and sunset are especially good times for viewing, as the rock changes with its normal terracotta hue to blue or violet at sunset to flaming red in the mornings as the sunrises behind it.

While climbing the rock itself is now forbidden, there are trails that go around and in other directions. These include:

Uluru base walk. This is about 10 km long takes about 3-4 hours.

Mala Walk (2 km). This track begins at the Mala Walk car-park and ends at the inspiring Kantju Gorge.

Liru Walk is a walk between the cultural center and the base of Uluru. It is 4km and takes about 1 and a half hours.

Kuniya Walk is an easy 1km walk to the Mutitjulu Waterhole on the Southern side of Uluru. There is some rock art here also in the rock shelter, and a good place to learn about the Tjukurpa (pronounced Chook-a-pa) of the area.