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Guide · Entry and costs
The Uluru park pass, and what a visit really costs
Every visit to the rock starts at the entry station. Here is what the pass costs, how to buy and use it, which tours include it, and how to add up a sunrise morning for your group.
Check availabilityfrom $147 · free cancellation
Editorial team, ulurusunrise.comUpdated October 22, 2026about 6 min to read20 sources
What the pass costs
You need a park pass to visit Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, and Parks Australia sells it online for quick entry.2 As of 22 October 2026, Parks Australia listed an adult pass (18 and over) at AUD 38, valid for 3 days, and an annual adult pass at AUD 50; children and teenagers under 18 go free.1 Prices of government fees can change, so check the page when you buy.
Residents of the Northern Territory have a vehicle option: an annual pass at AUD 109 that covers the driver and all passengers in a vehicle registered in the Territory; tour and hire vehicles are excluded.4 For most overseas and interstate visitors, the 3-day adult pass is the one to buy.1
The pass covers this park only. It is not valid for Kakadu, which needs its own pass, and the other national parks of the Northern Territory are run by the Territory government with their own bookings.5 A day trip to Kings Canyon, for example, needs a separate Watarrka National Park pass. Inside this park, though, one pass covers both Uluru and Kata Tjuta, 50 km apart by road.6
From purchase to the gate
Using your pass on a sunrise morning
Buying and using it
Buy online before the day if you can. Once bought, you can print the pass or save it to your phone; at the Uluru-Kata Tjuta entry station you use the left-hand lane and scan the QR code on your pass to open the gate.7 On an iPhone, the pass can sit in the Wallet app and appear on your lock screen as you approach.7
If you cannot buy online, you can still get a pass at the entry station on your way into the park.3 That is slower, and on a sunrise morning, with the gates opening between 5.00 am and 6.30 am depending on the month, every minute at the barrier counts.8
Parks Australia also notes that park pass refunds are available in certain circumstances, so read its refund page if your plans change.9 The 3-day validity is generous: it lets you watch one sunrise, return for another and spend a full day walking in between on the same pass.1
Your pass money
How park pass revenue is spent
%
Pass types
Park passes as Parks Australia lists them
| Pass | Price | Valid | Who |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult | AUD 38 | 3 days | 18 and over |
| Annual adult | AUD 50 | 1 year | 18 and over |
| Children and teens | Free | No payment needed | Under 18 |
| Northern Territory vehicle | AUD 109 | 1 year | Driver and passengers, NT-registered |
Government fees read on Parks Australia's site on 22 October 2026; check the page before you buy.14
Which pass?
Three kinds of visitor
Short stay
Annual
VehicleTerritory local
NT-registered car
- Pass
- Annual vehicle
- Price
- AUD 109
- Covers
- Driver and passengers
You need a park pass to experience Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park’s natural and cultural wonders.
Uluru tickets on a tour
Tour prices and Uluru tickets are separate things. The coach tour this site books lists the national park fee as not included, children free of charge, and asks you to buy park tickets online in advance. Its own price starts from $147 for the 5-hour sunrise and Walpa Gorge morning.
Other listings handle it differently. The culture and Kata Tjuta day says its prices do not include the park pass. The small-group highlights morning and the guided base trek say you can buy your park ticket at the entry station. The hop-on hop-off bus asks you to pre-purchase the pass from Parks Australia.
Read every listing you book for this line. If the pass is not mentioned as included, assume it is extra, and have it ready on your phone, so that nobody holds up a coach at the gate.
Checklist
Before the entry station
01
Have ready
- Your pass printed or on your phone
- The gate time for your month
- Your tour booking reference
Cost calculator
Your sunrise morning, added up
Tour starting totals by group size; add the park pass for each adult.
People
Total from$294
per traveler from $147
Check availabilityfree cancellationGroup totals for dawn: the smallest per-person GetYourGuide fare for each tour, multiplied by the number of travelers and converted with the day's euro rate; the booking page shows the exact sum.
Video
Uluru, what you need to know: park passes and the base walk
The player loads on your tap, not before.
Where the money goes
All park pass money goes back into the park, and Parks Australia publishes the split: 25% to Traditional Owner lease payments, 40% to operations, 15% to ranger and cultural activities, and 20% to natural and cultural preservation.10 A quarter of the revenue supports Anangu homelands, training and business development.11
The lease payments are part of the deal made at Handback. On 26 October 1985 the title deeds of the park were returned to Anangu, who leased the land back for 99 years.12 Anangu own Uluru and Kata Tjuta, and the park is jointly managed with Parks Australia.13
What you get for the money is substantial. The pass covers the sunrise and sunset viewing areas, the walking tracks around Uluru and at Kata Tjuta, the Cultural Centre and the free ranger-guided Mala walk.1415 Parks Australia counts more than 250,000 visitors to the park every year.16
Planning your days around one pass
Because the adult pass lasts 3 days, it pays to plan those days before you buy.1 A sensible pattern is a sunrise on the first morning, on a tour such as the booked coach morning to Talinguru Nyakunytjaku and Walpa Gorge, then a self-guided day on the second, and a free morning for whatever you missed on the third.
On the self-guided day, start at the Cultural Centre, which Parks Australia suggests as the first stop of any visit, then walk part or all of the base walk in the cool of the morning.1718 The free ranger-guided Mala walk starts at 8.00 am from October to April and 10.00 am from May to September, so fit it into the morning that matches the season.15
Leave space for the weather. Cloud can hide any single sunrise, and a spare morning inside the same 3-day window costs nothing extra in entry fees.1 Keep the pass on your phone the whole time, because you scan it each time you pass the entry station.7
Adding up a sunrise trip
So how much does it cost to go to Uluru for a morning? Start with the pass: AUD 38 per adult, nothing for under 18s.1 Add the tour, if you take one: the booked sunrise and Walpa Gorge morning from $147, the 2-hour dawn walk among the lights from $95, or the guided sunrise walk from $147.
Without a tour, transport is the main cost, because there are no taxis or public transport in the park.19 A hop-on hop-off pass valid for 1 day is listed from $99; a rental car from the airport is the other option.19 Several things inside the park cost nothing extra once you are in, such as the ranger-guided Mala walk.15
The calculator on this page multiplies the starting price of each tour by your group size. The park pass is not in those totals, so add AUD 38 for each adult.1
Common mistakes at the gate
One easy slip is assuming the pass is in the tour price. On the booked tour it is not, and the listing asks you to buy it online before the day. The second is buying a pass for a child: under 18s go free.1
Another is arriving before the gates open. The park opens at 5.00 am from October to February and as late as 6.30 am in June and July, and it closes at night, when all visitors must leave.820 A sunrise needs no special ticket, but it does need the right hour.
Finally, keep your pass for the whole stay. The adult pass is valid for 3 days, which is enough for a sunrise, a base walk and a day at Kata Tjuta.1 If you will come back within the year, compare it with the AUD 50 annual pass.1
Pick your dawn
Uluru at first light, Kata Tjuta by mid-morning
Pickup in Yulara, tea or coffee at sunrise and a walk in Walpa Gorge; cancel free up to a day before.
You ask,we answer.
How much is the park pass?
AUD 38 per adult. Valid for 3 days, as listed on 22 October 2026.1
Do children pay?
No. Children and teenagers under 18 go free.1
Is the pass included in the booked tour?
No. Buy it online before your tour day.
Can I buy it at the gate?
Yes, if you cannot buy online. The entry station sells passes.3
Is it valid at Kakadu?
No. Kakadu needs a separate pass.5
Can I get a refund?
In certain circumstances. Parks Australia sets the conditions.9
Where does the money go?
Back into the park. A quarter supports Anangu homelands and training.11
Sources
What this guide is based on
- 1Parks Australia, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National ParkBuy your pass↩
- 2Parks Australia, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National ParkBuy your pass↩
- 3Parks Australia, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National ParkBuy your pass↩
- 4Parks Australia, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National ParkBuy your pass↩
- 5Parks Australia, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National ParkBuy your pass↩
- 6Parks Australia, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National ParkWalks↩
- 7Parks Australia, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National ParkBuy your pass↩
- 8Parks Australia, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National ParkOpening hours↩
- 9Parks Australia, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National ParkBuy your pass↩
- 10Parks Australia, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National ParkBuy your pass↩
- 11Parks Australia, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National ParkBuy your pass↩
- 12Parks Australia, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National ParkHistory of Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park↩
- 13Parks Australia, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National ParkAmazing facts↩
- 14Parks Australia, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National ParkSunrise and sunset↩
- 15Parks Australia, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National ParkRanger-guided Mala walk↩
- 16Parks Australia, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National ParkAmazing facts↩
- 17Parks Australia, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National ParkCultural Centre↩
- 18Parks Australia, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National ParkUluru base walk↩
- 19Parks Australia, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National ParkGetting around↩
- 20Parks Australia, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National ParkOpening hours↩
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