12 Sacred Groves & Mystical Forests Revered by Ancient Cultures

9. Uluru's Mutitjulu Waterhole & Kantju Gorge, Australia: Dreamtime's Desert Sanctuaries

While Uluru itself is a colossal sacred monolith, its surrounding acacia woodlands and waterholes, like Mutitjulu and Kantju Gorge, are equally sacred to the Aṉangu people. These areas are not "forests" in the traditional sense but are crucial "groves" of life in the desert, rich with specific Dreamtime stories of ancestral beings like Kuniya (woma python woman) and Liru (poisonous snake man). The rock art and landforms here are tangible links to these creation narratives, ingeniously mapping spiritual law onto the very earth.