From Yulara: 3-Hour Small Group Kata Tjuta Afternoon Tour
Guided walkingPickup includedMax 15
From $133 per person
Kata Tjuta Walk by Walk: Every Track, Lookout and What You Will See
Short answer. Four options on two tracks. Walpa Gorge is 2.6 km and an hour, and it is what almost every guided departure walks. The Valley of the Winds runs 2.2 km, 5.4 km or 7.4 km depending on how far you go, takes up to four hours, and closes back to its first lookout at eleven whenever the forecast reaches 36 degrees.
Two tracks, four ways to walk them
There is no interior at Kata Tjuta and no route around the outside. What there is instead is a pair of tracks that go in between the domes, and the choice you are making is how deep into the formation you want to get. Kata Tjuta walking tours each pick one of these, so the track is worth choosing before the tour.
| Walk | Distance | Shape | Time | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walpa Gorge | 2.6 km | return | 1 hour | Grade 3 |
| Valley of the Winds — Karu Lookout | 2.2 km | return | about 1 hour | moderately difficult |
| Valley of the Winds — Karingana Lookout | 5.4 km | return | 2 hours 30 minutes | many steps, some steep |
| Valley of the Winds — full circuit | 7.4 km | loop | about 4 hours | Grade 4 |
Walpa Gorge — 2.6 km return, about an hour
Walpa is the Anangu name for this gorge, and the track runs straight in between two of the tallest domes on a gentle but rocky gradient. It ends at a grove of spearwood, and along the way there is a seasonal stream and a pocket of rare plants that grow nowhere on the open plain.
Parks Australia grades it 3 and notes there is water at the track and no toilets. Clusters of pink daisies come out in late winter, and kanyala — common wallaroos — live in the rocks and are often visible from the path.
Walk it late. The park's own tip is that the benches along Walpa Gorge sit mostly empty at the end of the day, because everybody has moved to the sunset viewing area. The colour on the walls is best at exactly that hour, so the quietest time and the best light are the same time.
Valley of the Winds to Karu Lookout — 2.2 km return
The first of the three Valley of the Winds options, and about an hour. Parks Australia describes it as moderately difficult with loose rocks to negotiate, and the vistas at the end are the reward.
Karu matters for a second reason: it is the point the whole walk closes back to from 11:00 am whenever the temperature reaches 36 °C. On a hot day this is not one option among three, it is the only one open after eleven.
Valley of the Winds to Karingana Lookout — 5.4 km return
The middle option, at about two and a half hours. This is the one that takes you down into the valley and the creek beds between the domes, and Parks Australia warns of many steps and some steep spots.
Karingana is the view the shorter walk never reaches: the valley opening out between two rock walls. Water is available at the track start and again halfway along.
The full circuit — 7.4 km, about four hours
Grade 4, and the park describes it as steep, rocky and difficult in places. It is the only route that circles behind the domes, and it takes in both lookouts on the way round.
Four hours of walking plus ninety minutes of driving makes this a whole-morning commitment, which is why no half-day departure covers it. The multi-day itineraries that build it in are on the multi-day page.
The photography rule on the long walk
Parks Australia asks visitors on the Valley of the Winds to refrain from photographing the rock formations, because they hold knowledge that should only be learned in person by people with the cultural authority to do so. Close-up photographs of plants, animals and your own group are fine, and video is discouraged along the walk.
There is no equivalent restriction at Walpa Gorge or at the viewing areas. The cultural page sets out where that request comes from.
How the two tracks differ underfoot
They are not two lengths of the same walk. Walpa Gorge runs straight in along a gorge floor, so the ground is rocky but the line is obvious and the gradient is gentle the whole way. You are between two walls from very early on, which is what makes an hour feel like a proper visit.
The Valley of the Winds climbs first, on loose stone, to Karu Lookout, and only then drops away into the valley behind. Between Karu and Karingana there are many steps and some genuinely steep sections, and the full circuit adds a long stretch through creek beds where the surface changes every few hundred metres.
The two viewing areas, for when you are not walking
- The Kata Tjuta dune viewing area — a boardwalk to a dune top with the whole formation in front of you and Uluru on the horizon behind. One of only two areas in the park that works at sunrise as well as sunset.
- The Kata Tjuta sunset viewing area — closer in on the eastern side, and the one the coaches use at the end of the day.
Water, toilets and the things that are not out there
Drinking water is available at the Walpa Gorge track, and at both the start and the halfway point of the Valley of the Winds. That is the complete list of facilities on either walk. There are toilets at the car parks and none on the tracks, which matters more on a four-hour loop than on a one-hour gorge.
There is no shop, no cafe and no fuel anywhere near the domes. The nearest of anything is forty-five minutes away at Yulara, so fill the tank and buy the water before you set out. The map page sets out the three car parks and what each one reaches.
What to expect underfoot
Walpa Gorge is a gentle but rocky climb rather than a flat path, and Parks Australia grades it 3. The Valley of the Winds is graded 4 and described as steep, rocky and difficult in places, with loose stone on the first section and many steps between Karu and Karingana.
Neither is wheelchair accessible, and the park says so for Walpa Gorge specifically. Closed walking shoes rather than sandals on both, and a fly net from October to March.
Which guided departure walks which track
Almost all of them walk Walpa Gorge. The three-hour afternoon tour, the sunrise day trip and four of the seven multi-day itineraries all name it, and it is the sensible default for a first visit.
Only two itineraries in this set put you in the Valley of the Winds: the three-day trip out of Alice Springs and the four-day one that adds the West MacDonnell Ranges. That difference is worth checking against the fare, and Kata Tjuta Tours shows it on every card.
Choose the track you want, then find the departure that starts early enough to finish it.Every tour here refunds in full; each card states its own window.
See the departuresGuided departures that walk these tracks
3-Day Uluru-Kata Tjuta Kings Canyon Outback from Alice Springs
Park pass includedAll meals includedBeds included
From $582 per person
4 Day Uluru Kata Tjuta Kings Canyon West MacDonnell ex.Ayers Rock
Park pass includedAll meals includedBeds included
From $888 per person