I have stood at the base of Uluru on three separate trips, and each time I have felt something that is genuinely difficult to put into words — a weight to the place, a stillness that the photographs simply do not capture. The question I get asked most often, even now, is whether you can still climb it. The short answer is no, and the longer answer is worth understanding properly.
The Climb Closed Permanently in October 2019
On 26 October 2019, the climb up Uluru was permanently closed by Parks Australia following a unanimous vote by the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Board of Management. This was not a sudden decision. The Board had been working toward this outcome for years, and the final resolution was passed in 2017, giving visitors two years' notice before the closure took effect.
If you have arrived at this page hoping to find a loophole, a guided workaround, or a special permit that lets you ascend — there is none. The climb is closed to everyone, regardless of fitness, nationality, or reason. Attempting to climb the rock now is illegal and can result in significant fines.
Why the Climb Was Closed
The closure had three primary drivers, all of which had been clearly articulated by the Anangu people — the traditional custodians of the land — for decades before the vote.
- Spiritual and cultural significance: Uluru is a deeply sacred site within Tjukurpa, the Anangu system of law, spirituality, and knowledge. The specific path of the climb crosses a route used by the Mala (rufous hare-wallaby) ancestral beings, and it caused the Anangu genuine distress to watch visitors walk it. As the Anangu have said publicly for many years, the rock is not a theme park or a tourist attraction in the conventional sense — it is the living heart of their culture.
- Safety: Between the opening of the tourist climb in 1958 and its closure, 37 people died attempting the ascent. The chain installed to assist climbers runs for only part of the route, and the surface — steep, smooth sandstone — becomes extraordinarily dangerous when wet or in high winds. Many more visitors suffered serious injuries or required helicopter evacuations.
- Environmental damage: Decades of foot traffic caused erosion along the climb route. Human waste left on the rock — toilet facilities were not accessible mid-climb — contaminated a waterhole at the base that the Anangu use for drinking water. The physical and ecological toll was measurable and ongoing.
What the Climb Actually Looked Like (for Context)
Before its closure, the climb followed a steep, exposed route up the north-western face of the rock. The ascent covered roughly 1.6 kilometres one way and gained around 348 metres in elevation. At its steepest, the gradient was approximately 45 degrees. A chain bolted into the rock ran for part of the route, but significant sections required scrambling on open rock with no assist. In high temperatures — which at Uluru can exceed 45 degrees Celsius in summer — the conditions were brutal, and Parks Australia regularly closed the climb temporarily due to heat, wind, or rain.
The record for ascents in a single year was somewhere around 100,000 visitors in the 1990s. By the time of the 2019 closure, that number had dropped significantly, partly because Parks management had made the cultural context clearer and many visitors chose not to climb out of respect.
What to Do at Uluru Instead — and There Is a Lot
Here is what I would tell any friend planning a trip: Uluru without the climb is not a diminished experience. In many ways it is a richer one, because you are engaging with the place on its own terms.
The Base Walk
The full base walk circumnavigates Uluru at ground level over approximately 10.6 kilometres. Allow three to four hours at a relaxed pace. This walk takes you past cave paintings, Anangu story sites, permanent waterholes, and sections of the rock's surface that show extraordinary geological detail — ripple marks from an ancient seabed, striations, deep weather-carved grooves. I found it far more interesting than staring at sandstone from 300 metres up would have been.
Several sections of the base walk are restricted from photography out of respect for sacred sites, and the signs asking you not to photograph are easy to follow. This is worth knowing before you go.
Guided Cultural Tours
Anangu Tours, operated by Anangu people, runs a range of experiences including morning dot-painting workshops, guided walks with an Anangu guide and interpreter, and the Kuniya Walk, which focuses specifically on the stories of the water python ancestor at the southern end of the rock. These tours are genuinely informative and nothing like a standard tourist commentary — the knowledge on offer is not available in any guidebook.
The Parks Australia Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park site has current details on all authorised tour operators and up-to-date visitor information including park fees.
Kata Tjuta (The Olgas)
About 50 kilometres west of Uluru sits Kata Tjuta, a collection of 36 domed rock formations that many first-time visitors underestimate. The Valley of the Winds walk (7.4 kilometres, three to four hours) is a proper physical undertaking with genuine reward — narrow gorges, sudden open views, and a landscape that feels entirely different from Uluru despite being part of the same national park. I have done it twice and would do it again without hesitation.
Sunrise and Sunset Viewing
The designated sunrise and sunset viewing areas within the park are set up with low-key infrastructure and can get busy, particularly in peak season (May to September). Arriving 30 minutes before the advertised sunrise or sunset time is usually sufficient to get a clear view. The colour change on the rock at these times — moving through ochre, deep red, and eventually a dusty purple — is not overstated in the literature. It is worth seeing.
Getting to Uluru
Uluru is located in the southern part of the Northern Territory, roughly 450 kilometres south-west of Alice Springs. Most visitors fly directly into Ayers Rock Airport (Connellan Airport), which receives regular services from Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. Alternatively, Alice Springs is a logical base for a road trip that might also include Kings Canyon.
If you are doing a broader Northern Territory trip, the standard itinerary runs Darwin in the north — which is a worthwhile destination in its own right — down through the Kakadu wetlands and then south to the Red Centre. It is a big route and requires either a week minimum or a willingness to fly between the major stops.
The park entrance fee is currently $38 per adult for a three-day pass (prices are subject to change; check Parks Australia for current fees). There is no cost to enter Yulara, the resort village adjacent to the park, but you will pay the fee at the park gate.
For broader Northern Territory trip planning, the Tourism NT official site has itinerary guides, seasonal information, and road condition updates that are genuinely useful rather than purely promotional.
Practical Notes Before You Go
Uluru sits at roughly 500 metres elevation in an arid desert environment. Summer temperatures (November to March) regularly exceed 40 degrees, and some walking trails are closed by Parks management when temperatures are extreme. The cooler months of May to August are the most popular and most comfortable for extended walks. Flies are a significant presence throughout the warmer months — a fly net for your hat is not a joke purchase.
Water is available at the cultural centre and at car parks around the base, but carry more than you think you need for any walk longer than two kilometres. The cultural centre, located near the base walk car parks, is a well-designed introduction to Tjukurpa and Anangu history and is worth an hour of your time before you start walking.
If you are arriving with the assumption that the closure of the climb has somehow made Uluru less worth visiting, I would encourage you to set that assumption aside before you arrive. The place does not need you to stand on top of it to leave a mark on you — it manages that quite effectively from the ground.