Chambers Pillar Historical Reserve
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Chambers Pillar is a spectacular solitary column towering 50 metres above the Simpson Desert plain, located 160km from Alice Springs. Explore the reserve on foot, and don't forget your camera.
Description
Chambers Pillar was formed from sandstone deposited and worn down over 350 million years. It was an important landmark guiding the region's earliest pioneers on their way from Adelaide to Alice Springs. John MacDouall Stuart first recorded the pillar in 1860 and named it after James Chambers, one of his South Australian sponsors.
The local Aboriginal people believe that the pillar is the Gecko ancestor Itirkawara. Banished for taking a wife from the wrong skin group, he retreated into the desert. When they stop to rest they turned into prominent rocky formations - Itirkawara into the Pillar, and the woman into Castle Rock 500m to the north-east.
Follow one of the marked walking tracks to the viewing platform or past the prominent features of Chambers Pillar. Photographers should time their visit for either sunrise or sunset when the Pillar glows as the rays of the sun strike its face.
Access is via four-wheel drive tracks. Camping is permitted (fees apply).Secure you campsite online
Facilities
- Barbeque
Map & Directions
Chambers Pillar Road, off Old South Road, Alice Springs, Northern Territory 0870 Australia
Directions
Located 160km South of Alice off the Old South Road and is accessible to high clearance 4WD only.
