Book Direct with the Owner at Rainbow Valley Conservation Reserve in Alice Springs with Airlie Beach Holiday. Click on the Email or Call Now button to get your special price, talk with the owner to get a special price.
Marvel at the ancient landscape of the aptly named Rainbow Valley - sandstone bluffs and cliffs with exposed bands of coloured rock. These free standing cliffs form part of the James Range, and are a favourite subject of photographers who capture their varied shapes and colours at dawn or dusk when the rainbow-like rock bands are highlighted. There are unmarked trails for bushwalking around the bluff area and to other locations along the range The reserve is also rich in evidence of Aboriginal occupation. You will see rock engravings or petroglyphs and paintings as well as grinding stones and stone tool chips, especially around the hills and ridges. The coloured rock bands in the sandstone cliffs were caused by water. The red iron of sandstone dissolved and was drawn to the surface during the dry season. This dark red capping is hard and weathers slowly, whereas the softer white sandstone below erodes quickly into loose sand. Weathering and erosion are also responsible for the valley shape, where sandstone blocks have been eroded into rock faces and squared towers. Access is for four-wheel drive vehicles only.?A camping and picnic area is provided.
