October 25, 2019

Today, October 25, is the last day that people will be able to climb Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock, a giant outcrop of rock in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in Australia’s Northern Territory. A ban on climbing Uluru, which is considered sacred by the local Anangu Australian Aboriginal group, begins tomorrow. The date of the ban marks the 34th anniversary of the return of Uluru to its traditional Anangu owners in 1985. The Anangu people have looked after the land surrounding Uluru for tens of thousands of years.

Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock, is a place of spiritual significance for its traditional owners, the Anangu Australian Aboriginal group. Credit: © Stanislav Fosenbauer, Shutterstock

More than 250,000 people visit Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park each year, and climbing the giant outcrop of rock has long been a popular activity. The Anangu people consider the ascent disrespectful, however, and have lobbied for a climbing ban for years. Since 1992, signs at the park have asked people to respect the site as sacred and to not climb the rock. The number of climbers has dropped in recent years, but many people continued to climb Uluru—an action made easier by a chain to grip while making the sometimes perilous ascent. In the end, the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park board decided to enforce a climbing ban, remove the chain, and leave Uluru at peace.

A ban on climbing Uluru, long a major tourist attraction, will go into effect tomorrow, Oct. 26, 2019. Credit: © Steve Vidler, SuperStock

Uluru rises abruptly 1,100 feet (335 meters) above the sand dune plains, about 280 miles (450 kilometers) southwest of Alice Springs. The rock is more than 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) long and 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) wide. It measures 5 miles (8 kilometers) around its base. The rock’s coarse sandstone glows red during sunrise and sunset. Uluru consists of beds of arkose (sandstone containing feldspar minerals) that date back to the Cambrian Period, which lasted from about 540 million to 485 million years ago. Similar rock lies at shallow depths under the sand plain surrounding Uluru. The erosion that formed Uluru probably started in the Cretaceous Period, from about 145 million to 65 million years ago.

Uluru has many sacred sites and caves decorated with rock art. The first European to see Uluru was the English explorer Ernest Giles in 1872. The explorer William Gosse visited the rock in 1873. He named it Ayers Rock after Sir Henry Ayers, who was then the premier of South Australia. In 1873, Gosse became the first European to climb Uluru. The Anangu people do not climb the rock because of its spiritual significance.

In 1950, Uluru was officially made into a national park. The original name of the park was Ayers Rock National Park. In 1985, Australia’s government legally returned the land where Uluru stands to the Anangu. The Anangu then turned over the management of Uluru to the Australian government on a 99-year lease.

In 1993, Ayers Rock National Park was officially renamed Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. Kata Tjuta, also known as the Olgas, is a group of large, rounded rock outcrops, 20 miles (32 kilometers) west of Uluru. In 1994, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park became a World Heritage Site because of its unique environmental and cultural importance.