Water cascades down Uluru after heavy rains hit Northern Australia

(CNN) – After heavy rains hit northern Australia for nearly a week, stunning images emerged from the waterfalls at Uluru, the sacred sandstone monolith on the desert plains of the Northern Territory’s “Red Center”.

Videos and photos show gallons of water falling from the bright red rock, while rain, totaling up to five times the monthly average for March, fell in just four days in the most affected areas.

The generally dry spot was hit during the downpour, resulting in picturesque ramps that descended through the clods carved into the stone.

“I lived and worked in Uluru for 4 years and have never seen waterfalls and rain like this,” Stacey MacGregor, who works for a local tourism company, told CNN.

“I was in the park at 11 am and came back at 5 pm, when the rain got stronger to take these photos,” she added, referring to the photos posted on her Facebook page.

Several waterfalls fall on the surface of Uluru.

Stacey MacGregor / AP

Rainfall, totaling up to five times the monthly average for March, fell in just four days in some areas.

Stacey MacGregor / AP

A lucky few managed to see the waterfalls in Uluru, but tourists have been banned from crossing the sacred site since the end of 2019, after the Aboriginal people of Anangu said it was being destroyed by visitors, eroding its surface, throwing trash and polluting nearby water wells.

Before the ban came into force, tens of thousands of tourists climbed the monolith.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Uluru is 280 miles west of Alice Springs. At 1,142 feet tall, it is taller than the Eiffel Tower and London’s Shard skyscraper. It is hot, slippery and often windy and at least 35 people have died since climbing began in the 1950s.

CNN’s Alisha Ebrahimji contributed to this report.

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