News
Travel
No more climbing Uluru, Australia imposes ban on tourists

Not In Town | @notintownlive | 01 Nov 2017, 06:48 pm

No more climbing Uluru, Australia imposes ban on tourists
Canberra, Nov 1 (NITN): When you think of travelling to Australia, a few key spots to visit spring to mind: Bondi Beach, the Great Barrier Reef, and of course Uluru - which commonly was known for many years as Ayers Rock.

Tourists come in droves to visit the grand scale of Uluru, the sandstone rock  which is famous for its red glow. But according to the BBC, from October 2019 nobody will be allowed to climb the 348-metre-high natural structure.

The landmark decision came after the board of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, where the rock is situated, voted unanimously against allowing tourists to scale it. The decision was made for a reason; Uluru is a sacred site for Aboriginal Australians, and to allow visitors to climb it has long been deemed disrespectful to the indigenous population.

For a long time now, locals have requested that visitors don't climb up the site formally referred to as Ayers Rock, but this has consistently been ignored. That's despite signs being placed at the beginning of the climbing path urging tourists not to proceed.

Speaking about the decision, Anangu Aboriginal man and chairman of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Sammy Wilson said: "It is an extremely important place, not a playground or theme park like Disneyland. If I travel to another country and there is a sacred site, an area of restricted access, I don't enter or climb it, I respect it."

So while the views might be beautiful, it's something visitors should know they don't have the right to access, and this new rule will enforce that for the benefit of the local indigenous people.

Malaysia Airlines adds mor ...

Malaysia Airlines will expand its South India network by adding more flights on the Kuala Lumpur–Trivandrum route to meet rising demand, the airline said. From September 12, the carrier will operate five weekly services, with daily flights to start from December 1.

IndiGo brings Europe and th ...

IndiGo has expanded its codeshare agreement with KLM, the Netherlands’ national airline, providing its passengers with enhanced access to destinations across Europe and the United Kingdom through KLM’s network, the airline said.

Etihad Airways and Azul Bra ...

Etihad Airways and Azul Brazilian Airlines have signed a frequent flyer partnership, allowing members of Etihad Guest and Azul Fidelidade programme to earn and redeem loyalty points across both airlines.