Imalung Lookout: Get Amazing Uluru Photos From Yulara

Imalung Lookout sits within the boundaries of the tourist village of Yulara. It is up a small, dusty hill in the centre of the village and offers fantastic views of Uluru.

In this post, I share the information I’ve research about Imalung Lookout, as well as the photos I’ve taken from multiple visits to the lookout.

Where is Imalung Lookout?

Imalung Lookout is right in the centre of the Outback village of Yulara, which is around 25 km from Uluru.

Yulara was established in the late 1970s, with the sole purpose of looking after tourists, saving them the 300km journey from Alice Springs.

The lookout sits on a small sandbank in the middle of the village, with great views over to Uluru.

The top of the lookout is a small, sandy area, with a few benches and wooden fences. There is no alcohol allowed at the lookout, and you are not allowed to leave the designated are as they are trying to regenerate the native grasses.

Photos from Imalung Lookout

Afternoon Photos from Imalung Lookout

Our first walk up to Imalung Lookout was in the afternoon, and this was the first place we ever got to see Uluru from (we were on the wrong side of the plane!).

This was our first view of the iconic, UNESCO protected rock in the middle of the desert. The top of it appeared behind the grass as we walked up the side of the small hill.

The video above shows what you can see from the top of Imalung Lookout and was our first full view of Uluru.

Here is the first full photo I took of Uluru from the lookout. This was with an 80 mm Fuji lens, so makes it seem closer than it is, but it is a truly stunning view.

There were lots of Yellow-throated Miner birds at the top of the lookout, I was lucky enough to get a photo of them in front of Uluru.

Sunset Photos from Imalung Lookout

Imalung Lookout is a great place for both sunset or sunrise photos. Uluru is south of Yulara, so the light is perfect for both events.

These shots I took in the evening, capturing a man in a hat staring out at Uluru and a glimpse through the trees of the great rock.

Sunrise Photos from Imalung Lookout

For some contrast, here is what Uluru looks like from the same spot at sunrise.

I was amazed at how different the colours look, the darkness on the side the light hasn’t hit, and then an almost pink colour on the sunrise side.

What Does Imalung Mean?

The only reference I can find to the word Imalung comes from a 1958 article in the Australian Women’s Weekly, where the ranger of Uluru, Bill Harney, says “I take the tourists around the caves, and I tell them the myths, as two old natives Kadakadeka and Imalung told them to me when I first came to the Rock”.

From this, I am making the assumption that Imalung is named after a local aboriginal man, who is now lost to time, and unfortunately, doesn’t have any other references in electronic records.

Imalung Lookout – Final Thoughts

It was great to find a place within Yulara from which we could see Uluru as often as we liked.

We thought before visiting that we’d only really be able to see Uluru when we went on the tours, so we made the most of this fantastic viewing point.

Be conscious though, that it’s still 25 km away, so you’ll need a fairly decent zoom lens on your camera to get well framed shots.