Although the Northern Territory is Australia's least settled state, it contains the most famous place of all of Australia: Uluru ("U" on the map), formerly called Ayer's Rock, the largest monolith on earth, here seen from its western side at sunset.

Two cities are the two poles of the NT, coastal Darwin ("D") in the tropical north, and landlocked Alice Springs ("A") in the desert south. A now paved road and a railway line, the "Ghan", connect both cities. Katherine ("K"), the only other  sizeable town in NT, is the only stop on the line. Enormous deserts or half-deserts cover the south, and bushland, cattle farms and rainforests the north. But between long drives, there are several world-famous National Parks; Uluru / Kata Tjuta, Kings Canyon, Kakadu and Katherine Gorge (Nitmiluk N.P.) are those on the top of the visitor's list.