Alice Springs: The Town in the Heart of Australia

The quintessential Outback town that is Alice Springs lies in the Red Centre of Australia along the north-south train route of the Ghan. It is close to Uluru at the World Heritage-inscribed Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park and so the Alice, as the town is called by us Aussies, is often considered a way station to the natural wonders of Australia's Red Centre.

But it is, of course, a destination in its own right because of its distinctively Outback character and its own particular attractions.

Alice Springs was founded in the 1870s when a telegraph station was built near a water hole of the now usually dry Todd River.

• The Town They Call Alice
• Uluru: Australia's Rock Monolith
• Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park: World Heritage Site
• The Ghan: From Adelaide to Darwin

Photo: Old Alice Springs telegraph station near the Todd River © Australian Tourist Commission