The last day to get on Uluru

Today, Friday, it was the last possible day to climb or climb Uluru, the most famous rocky massif in central Australia, also known as Ayers Rock. From 16.30 local time (8.30 in Italy) the ban that was decided in 2017 by the Australian national park Uluru-Kata Tjuta came into force, because Uluru is considered a sacred place by the Australian aborigines. For a long time at the base of the massif there have been signs written by the park authorities asking tourists not to go up to Uluru out of respect for the aborigines, and since the ban was announced only 16 percent of all tourists they visited then actually went up.

In addition to the respect for the aborigines, the park authorities had decided to close the massif to tourists also for security reasons. Since the 1950s at least 37 people have died during the ascent due to accidents, dehydration and heat: the last one was a 76-year-old Japanese tourist in July 2018. The ascent to Uluru, which is 348 meters high, in fact it is very steep and slippery, and in the summer area it reaches 47 ° C.

After the final closure the park authorities will remove an iron chain used to help them ascend to the top of the massif. For those who ignore the ban, fines of over 10,000 Australian dollars (6,000 euros) will be provided. Due to the imminent closure, many tourists have visited the massif in recent months, and long lines of people have been formed waiting to begin their ascent. As already in the last two days, even today the access to tourists has been postponed for a few hours due to the strong winds on top of the massif.

The line up for climbing Uluru on the last day @GuardianAus just before 10am when they opened after a wind delay pic.twitter.com/0WkOO2xYYi

– Mikearoo (@mpbowers) October 25, 2019