Ewaninga rock carvings, Aboriginal rock art site in MacDonnell Region, Australia.
Napwerte / Ewaninga Rock Carvings Conservation Reserve covers low sand dunes, rocky outcrops and a claypan about 100 m across, 35 km south of Alice Springs. About 1,000 petroglyphs, mostly circles, lines and geometric motifs with some animal tracks, lie on outcrops south and south-east of the claypan.
The reserve was gazetted on 20 November 1996. An Indigenous land use agreement signed by the Central Land Council and the Northern Territory Government on 30 November 2005 granted the reserve as Aboriginal land under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976. In 2014 the site was officially dual-named Napwerte / Ewaninga, using the Arrernte name for the rock outcrop.
The site is a sacred men's site of the Arrernte people, its traditional owners, and access has been granted by them. Napwerte (pronounced na-poor-ta) is the Arrernte name of the rock outcrop, officially dual-named with Ewaninga in 2014. Most carvings are circles, lines and other geometric motifs, with some animal tracks.
The reserve lies about 35 km south of Alice Springs, reached by an unsealed road; access has been granted by the Arrernte traditional owners. The claypan is roughly 100 m across and holds water after light rain, so the ground can be soft or slippery then. Carry water and sun protection, as there is no shade or facilities.
In December 2004, laser-scanned 3D images of the Ewaninga petroglyphs were shown in the National Museum of Australia exhibition "Extremes – Survival in the Great Deserts of the Southern Hemisphere". The carvings were recorded digitally long before most Australian rock art sites.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,176 contributors worldwide.