Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) is a collection of 36 dome-shaped rock formations located within the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in Central Australia, approximately 30km from Uluru (Ayers Rock) and some 450km south-west of Alice Springs. The tallest dome of the Kata Tjuta group, Mt Olga, is higher than Uluru and stands at 457m.
Kata Tjuta means 'many heads' in Pitjantjatjara, the local indigenous Australian language, and is as sacred to the indigenous people as is nearby Uluru. Many ceremonies were, and are still carried out at Kata Tjuta, particularly at night. One of these former Kata Tjuta ceremonies included a type of public punishment that in extreme cases included death. If a woman of the tribe who was molested or attacked and injured named the attacker and he was found guilty, she was obliged to spear him through the leg as punishment.
Many Pitjantjatjara legends are associated with the Kata Tjuta and Uluru area. Many legends concern the great snake Wanampi, said to live on the summit of Mt Olga at Kata Tjuta and only descending during the dry season.
The alternative European name for Kata Tjuta, the Olgas, derives from a former Queen of Spain, and was given to the Kata Tjuta rock formations in 1872. Kata Tjuta can be accessed through the airport of Yulara, about 30kms away. The closest accommodation to is at Ayers Rock Resort in Yulara.