Yulara: Uluru Sunrise and Kata Tjuta Day Trip by Bus

About This Experience

This tour covers the two big landmarks of Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in one morning. An air-conditioned coach collects you from your Ayers Rock Resort hotel in the dark and drives into the park to Talinguru Nyakunytjaku, the main sunrise viewing area for Uluru.

You watch the first light reach Uluru with a cup of tea or coffee in hand. The viewing area has shelters, platforms and walking tracks, so there is room to move around for photos. Uluru rises 348 m above the surrounding plain, and the sunrise light shows its full length.

On the drive west to Kata Tjuta, about 50 km by road from Uluru, your driver guide gives a historical overview of the park and the Anangu, its Traditional Owners. Aboriginal people have lived in Central Australia for more than 30,000 years.

At Kata Tjuta (the Olgas) the coach stops at a viewing point facing the domes, then you walk into Walpa Gorge. The track is 2.6 km return, takes about an hour and is gentle but rocky. Your guide points out spearwood and other plants that grow between the sheer walls, and explains the local wildlife and geology.

The coach then returns you to your accommodation in Yulara. The tour runs about 5 hours, so you are back in time for an afternoon flight if you follow the operator's flight-time advice.

Highlights

• Sunrise over Uluru from Talinguru Nyakunytjaku, the park's main sunrise viewing area
• Historical overview of the national park and Anangu culture on the drive
• Kata Tjuta viewing stop facing the domes (36 domes in all)
• Walpa Gorge walk: 2.6 km return, about 1 hour on a rocky track
• Spearwood and other gorge plants, with notes on wildlife and geology
• Both landmarks of the park in one morning, about 50 km apart by road

What's Included

• ✓ Pickup and drop-off at Ayers Rock Resort hotels
• ✓ Tea and coffee at the sunrise viewing area
• ✓ Accredited local driver guide
• ✓ Travel in an air-conditioned coach
• ✓ Commentary throughout the tour

Not Included

• National park pass (adults A$38, under-18s free; buy online before the day)
• Breakfast and other meals (only tea and coffee are listed)
• Gratuities
• Flights

What to Bring

• Water bottle that holds 1 liter
• Comfortable walking shoes for the rocky gorge track
• A sweater or warm layer for winter mornings
• Camera
• Your park pass, printed or saved on your phone

Good to Know & Caveats

• The coach leaves before sunrise, so pickup is early and changes with the season: sunrise at Yulara is about 5:50 am in November and December and about 7:30 am in June and July.
• The operator advises booking flights that leave after 1:00 pm (April to May and August to March) or after 1:30 pm (June and July) on the tour day.
• The Walpa Gorge track is gentle but rocky underfoot. Closed walking shoes make it easier.
• The listing says the tour suits all age groups. Under-18s enter the park free.
• From October to March daytime temperatures regularly pass 35°C, so carry the full liter of water.

Meeting Point

Hotel pickup and drop-off at Ayers Rock Resort, Yulara