Australia Uluru TourUluru Base Walk Tour: Walking the Full 10.6 km Circuit
A guided Uluru base walk tour covers the whole 10.6 km track around the rock, starting in the dark so the walking finishes before the heat. Two run daily from Yulara: a 5.5-hour version at $147.50 with a light breakfast, and a six-hour small-group trek at $175.73 that spends the extra time at the caves and waterholes. Both are flat. Neither is short.
About the Walk
The full marked base track, graded AWTGS Grade 3 by Parks Australia
The walking time Parks Australia allows; tours add transfers and stops
Seasonal, from your Yulara hotel lobby. The dark start is the point
Plus the A$38 park pass, which no tour from Yulara includes
Sand and gravel path, no climbing, no scrambling, no shortcuts once you start
October to March the park asks walkers to be finished by 11 am
Check Base Walk Dates
Live availability for the $147.50 sunrise base walk. Departures thin out in January and February, when operators cut back on the hottest weeks.
Which of the Two Base Walks to Book
The 5.5-hour walk at $147.50
This is the standard version and the cheapest way to do the whole circuit with a guide. Pickup is from your hotel, you are on the track before first light, and the group moves at a steady pace with short stops at the main sites. Light breakfast is handed out partway. Rated 4.6 from 299 reviews.
Book it if you are comfortable walking 10 km at a normal pace and would rather spend the difference on the scenic flight later the same day.
The six-hour small-group trek at $175.73
Same distance, thirty minutes more walking time and a materially smaller group, which changes what you get. The guide can stop as long as a question deserves, and breakfast is carried and eaten on the track rather than handed out at a truck. Rated 4.8 from 248 reviews, the highest of the two.
Book it if the Tjukurpa stories, the rock art and the geology are the reason you came, not the step count.
Or walk it yourself
The base track is free, marked and open to anyone with a park pass. Plenty of people walk it alone from the Mala car park and have a fine morning. What you lose is the reason the ochre marks on a cave ceiling matter, which sign boards summarise and a guide explains.
What you also lose is the lift: self-walkers need a hire car at 5 am, because there are no taxis at Yulara. If you are still deciding between walking, riding and flying, every Uluru tour is compared here with prices and walking distances.
Both Guided Base Walks
The two departures that cover the entire circuit. Prices are the operators' lead-in adult rates on 5 August 2026.
from $147.50Cheapest full circuit Uluru: Guided Walking Tour at Sunrise with Light Breakfast
The whole 10.6 km base track on foot, started in the dark so the walking is done before the heat. Light breakfast on the way, guide talking through…
- Full 10.6 km base track
- Sunrise start, finished before the heat
- Light breakfast included
from $175.73Small group, slower pace Uluru: Guided Trek of Uluru's Base in a Small Group
The same base circuit as the sunrise walk but with six hours to do it in and a smaller group, so the guide can stop longer at the…
- Six hours for the full circuit
- Small group, long stops
- Breakfast on the track
What You Actually See in 10.6 km
The four things worth the distance
The rock is not one surface. Walking it takes you past caves, waterfalls' dried courses, ochre paintings and a permanent waterhole, and the light changes every twenty minutes for the first two hours.
- Mala walk and Kantju Gorge — the north-western corner, where rock art sits under overhangs and a waterfall runs after rain
- Muṯitjulu Waterhole — the only permanent water at the base, reached on the Kuniya walk from the southern side
- The eastern face at sunrise — the section nobody photographs because the good light lands while you are still walking it
- Sensitive sites — several sections where photography is not permitted, marked with signs and explained before you reach them
The bits people are surprised by
The scale only registers on foot. From the car park the rock reads as a single lump; an hour in, you are looking up at ribs and hollows fifty metres over your head and the far side is still an hour away.
The other surprise is the quiet. Once the coaches drop their groups and spread out, long stretches of the track have nobody on them. The circuit does not loop back on itself, so you walk away from the crowd rather than through it.
How the Morning Runs
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4:30–5:30 am
Hotel pickup at Yulara
Seasonal, earlier in summer. The drive to the park entry station takes about 20 minutes and the guide checks passes on the way.
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+30 min
Mala car park
Start point for the circuit. Boots on, water checked, and the first briefing about which sections are photography-free.
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+45 min
Mala walk and Kantju Gorge
Rock art under the overhangs, then the gorge where the waterfall lands after rain. The sun comes over the plain about here.
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+2 hr
The eastern side
The long open stretch, with the rock on one shoulder and spinifex plain on the other. Breakfast is somewhere along here.
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+3 hr
Kuniya walk to Muṯitjulu Waterhole
A short spur off the circuit to the waterhole, with the Kuniya and Liru story told at the wall above it.
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+3 hr 45
Back at the Mala car park
Circuit closed. Most groups are back on the coach before nine, which is the whole reason for the early start.
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+4 hr 30
Yulara drop-off
Back at your hotel by mid-morning with the rest of the day free — long enough to book [the sunset tour](/uluru-sunset-tour/) for the same evening.
Before You Book
What to bring, and what will ruin it
Three litres of water per person in the cool months, more in summer. Guides carry a reserve, not a supply.
- Closed walking shoes — sand, gravel and spinifex, not sandals
- A fly net from September to April, sold for a few dollars at the resort
- A jacket you can carry: June and July sunrises average 4.4°C and the same walk finishes near 20°C
- Sunscreen and a hat, because there is no shade after the first hour
- The A$38 park pass, bought online before you go rather than at the gate at 5 am
The park pass, and the one thing to check
Entry costs A$38 an adult for three consecutive days, about US$27, and under-18s go free. No Yulara tour includes it. Buy it online, save the QR code offline, and check that your three days still cover your last morning if you booked the walk for day four.
One date to plan around: the park closes on Friday 28 August 2026 from 6 to 11 am for the funeral of a senior Anangu woman. Sunrise walks that morning do not run.
What the Fare Does Not Buy
Not included on either walk
Both listings are clear about the boundary, and the park pass is the one that catches people at the entry station.
- The A$38 park pass, three consecutive days, under-18s free
- A real breakfast — light is the operative word on both departures
- Kata Tjuta, 40 km west and a separate morning
- Any shortcut: once the coach drops you, the circuit is the circuit
Cost for two, and the self-guided version
Two people on the cheaper walk is $295, on the small-group trek $351.46, plus A$76 in passes either way. Walking it yourself costs the passes and a hire car, and hire cars at Yulara start around A$120 a day.
For a couple the guided walk is close to a wash against the car once fuel is counted, and it removes the 4:45 am drive. For four people the car is cheaper — but then you are the guide.
Where the Walk Starts
Who Should Book It, and Who Should Not
Book it if
You can walk 10 km on the flat without stopping every kilometre, and you would rather see the rock from three metres away than from a coach window.
- You are at Yulara for two nights or more and want the morning that justifies the trip
- You want the cultural side rather than a photo stop — go for the small-group version
- You are travelling May to September, when the temperature makes the whole thing pleasant
Pick something else if
The distance is the problem, not the interest.
- Knees or hips make 10 km a bad idea — the Segway tour covers the same ground
- You have one afternoon only — the sunset tour does two short walks instead
- You are in the park in January, when even a 5 am start finishes in serious heat
- You want Kata Tjuta as well and have one morning — that bus leaves at the same hour
Questions About the Base Walk
How long is the Uluru base walk?
10.6 km on the marked track, which Parks Australia grades AWTGS Grade 3 and allows 3 hours 30 minutes for. Tour listings sometimes round it to 10.5 km or describe it as 12 km when they include the spur to Muṯitjulu Waterhole and the walk in from the car park.
Is the base walk hard?
It is flat and there is no scrambling, so the difficulty is distance and heat rather than terrain. Anyone who walks regularly will finish comfortably in the cool months. In summer the same walk at 35°C is a different proposition, which is why every departure starts before dawn.
Can you walk around Uluru without a guide?
Yes. The track is free, marked and open to anyone with a park pass, and it starts from the Mala car park. You need your own transport from Yulara at 5 am and you will read the story boards instead of hearing the stories. Both guided walks include hotel transfers.
What time do base walk tours start?
Pickup is between 4:30 and 5:30 am depending on the season, so the group is on the track for first light and finished before the heat. Expect to be back at your Yulara hotel between 10 and 11 am.
Which base walk tour is better value?
The 5.5-hour walk at $147.50 if you want the circuit done at a decent pace. The six-hour small-group trek at $175.73 if you want the guide's attention; it carries the higher rating, 4.8 from 248 reviews against 4.6 from 299.
Is breakfast really included?
On both, in different forms. The 5.5-hour tour hands out a light breakfast at a stop; the small-group trek carries it and eats on the track. Neither is a meal you would plan a day around, so eat something before pickup.
Can you climb Uluru instead?
No. Climbing has been prohibited since 26 October 2019 at the request of the Anangu traditional owners, and the route and chain are gone. The base walk is what replaced it, and guides will tell you it was always the better half of the mountain.
What Walkers Wrote
Loved our walk around the base of Uluru. Being there at sunrise was the perfect way to start the experience, which was not too demanding. The breakfast snack was great too.
Walking pace was good with regular stops where Alex shared interesting stories and facts. He has excellent knowledge and answered any questions we had.
They explained many of the cultural stories related to Uluru and we really enjoyed our tour. Their knowledge and explanations were exceptional.
Quotes reproduced from operator listings for the sunrise base walk, shortened where marked.