Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park - Audio tours
Kantju Gorge, Mala walk
Audio tour 9 - Mala walk - Please don't climb
- Location: Mala carpark | Duration: 3m00s
- Download audio tour 9 | Please don't climb (MP3 - 6.89 MB)
- Find out why we never climb
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Transcript
Palya!
Many of our walks begin at the Mala car park. One of our most popular walks, the Mala Walk, leads you past several areas of rock art before you arrive at the peaceful Kantju Gorge.
Along the way you’ll take in the story of Anangu’s ancestors - the Mala rufous-hare wallaby people. Join our rangers at the car park for the daily guided walk or simply follow the signs around the walk to learn the Mala story.
The Lungkata Walk is another easy walk that starts from the Mala car park.
If you want to learn more about Uluru, why not take the longer Base Walk? This takes in all of the shorter walks, giving you an in-depth look at Uluru and its many different waterholes, gorges and caves.
Remember whenever you are out walking at Uluru, drink lots of water. In summertime we recommend you do longer walks like the Base Walk early in the morning, finishing by 11 am.
While at the Mala car park you might also see the Uluru climb track. Anangu, the traditional owners of Uluru, ask that you respect their culture and choose not to climb.
Uluru is very important to Anangu. It is sacred.
Many visitors ask ‘If climbing is disrespectful to Anangu, why don’t the traditional owners just close the climb?’. Anangu people earn respect within their culture by behaving in the ‘right way’ and so the traditional owners are politely asking visitors to show respect for their culture by behaving in the right way and choosing not to climb.
Anangu are pleased that their message is being heard, that attitudes towards the climb are changing. They are pleased park visitors like you are taking the opportunity to learn about their culture and choosing not to climb.
The climb is also physically demanding - Uluru is 348 metres high, as high as a 95 storey building, and very steep and slippery. It can be dangerous and you require a high level of fitness to attempt it. Many people have died or been hurt while attempting the climb. Just as you might feel sad or upset if someone died when they were visiting your home, Anangu feel a great sadness when people die or are hurt on their land.
We often have to close the climb for safety reasons and in summer it is always closed from 8 am onwards - your safety is our number one priority.
That’s why we encourage our visitors to think about the other great ways to experience Uluru - by taking the Base Walk, a cultural tour or dot painting workshop - or perhaps taking the challenging Valley of the Winds walk out at Kata Tjuta.
