Alice Springs and Surrounds - Here, under the rainbow

Rainbow Valley is another of those spectacularly beautiful spots in central Australia that seem designed especially for people who love looking at beautiful landscapes. Rainbow Valley, part of the James Range, is around 75 kilometres, or less than an hour's drive from Alice Springs. The name comes from the array of colours in the stone, ochre, rose, vermilion, rust and gold. The colours seem to change according to different moods of atmosphere, light and time of day.

A combination of water, weathering and erosion has coloured and sculpted the semi-circle of peaks and valleys that make up this reserve. Over millions of years, the red iron of the sandstone layers was dissolved in water, and then drawn to the surface in the dry season. The red minerals formed a dark, iron-rich surface layer, with the white layers lying below. The dark red capping is hard, and weathers slowly while the soft white sandstone below weathers far more quickly, into loose sand.

Weathering and erosion has also sculpted the shape of the peaks and the valley into bluffs, peaks and towers.

The best time of the day to come here is sunrise or sunset, when the light really has a chance to transform the peaks. Visitors are welcome all year around, to go camping, to bushwalk and to take fantastic pictures. However the best time to come is during the cooler months, between April and November.