Karlu Karlu (Devils Marbles)
Karlu Karlu
Northern Territory, Australia · 20°34′26″S 134°15′40″E
Hundreds of rounded granite boulders, some balanced improbably on others, scattered across a shallow valley in the middle of the Northern Territory.
Karlu Karlu is a field of granite tors formed by spheroidal weathering: a 1.7-billion-year-old granite mass cracked into blocks, and water rounded the corners of each block underground before erosion exposed them. The result is boulders up to 6 m across, split cleanly in half or perched on pedestals. At sunrise and sunset the rock goes deep orange.
The site is sacred to the Warumungu, Kaytetye, Alyawarra and Warlpiri peoples; the name means "round boulders".
Why it stays quiet
It is 400 km from Alice Springs and 1,000 km from Darwin, on a highway most tourists drive straight through. Campers stop for a night; day visitors are rare.
Where it is
Before you go
Basic campground on site (fee). Short walks are signposted. Do not climb the marked sacred boulders.
Updated 2026-09-06 · Suggest a correction
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