Is Kings Canyon worth visiting? An honest look

For most visitors who are already at Uluru with a free day, Kings Canyon is worth the trip, and the reasons are specific. Tourism NT calls the Rim Walk one of the most iconic hikes in Australia, and describes the canyon as having 100 m high sandstone walls and palm-filled crevices.^1,3 It is a different landscape from Uluru's single monolith, and it rewards people who like to walk.

The cost is real, and it is mostly time. Tourism NT says Kings Canyon lies 300 km from Uluru and is only 3 hours drive away, and a day tour from Ayers Rock Resort covers that distance twice inside 12 hours.^2,3 If your trip is short, those hours compete with sunrise and sunset at Uluru.

The sensible question is therefore not whether the canyon is good but whether it is good for you. The rest of this page sets out who it suits, how it compares with the walks near Uluru and when you should leave it out.

The Kings Canyon Rim Walk vs Valley of the Winds comparison is the closest one, because the Valley of the Winds walk at Kata Tjuta is also Grade 4. Parks Australia describes it as steep, rocky and difficult in places, with a full circuit of 7.4 km that takes 3 to 4 hours.^17,14,16 The Kings Canyon rim is 6 km, in the same time range and the same grade.⁴

The difference lies in how each handles the heat. The Valley of the Winds walk closes at the first lookout from 11 am when the forecast or actual temperature reaches 36 degrees Celsius and above, while the rim must be started before 9am at the same figure.^18,6 Both are morning walks in summer, and you cannot do both on the same hot morning.

There is also a shorter way into Kata Tjuta. Parks Australia lists the Karu lookout walk as 1 hour and 2.2 km return, which is a taster that the rim does not offer.¹³ The rim is an all-or-nothing walk of 3 to 4 hours, with the creek floor as the easy alternative.^4,5

The canyon area offers more than the rim, and these are the kinds of kings canyon activities that fill a longer stay. Tourism NT describes the Light Towers installation of light and sound in the desert sands by the artist Bruce Munro, and a scenic helicopter experience that shows the canyon, the Garden of Eden and the Lost City from the air.^22,23

Karrke offers a 1-hour cultural tour at its Aboriginal cultural experience near the canyon, and Tourism NT suggests stopping there on the way for an overview of the local culture.^21,25 A 15-minute helicopter flight over the canyon is also a listing, from $140, rated 4.8 from 93 reviews.

The Light Towers and the helicopter suit a stay better than a single day. Tourism NT's own plan for day 2 pairs the drive with Karrke, a helicopter flight and sunset from the resort.⁸

Reviews are the closest thing to a second opinion. The ten newest English reviews of our listing give five stars, and they praise the guides by name for knowledge and friendliness. Several describe the walk as challenging, and one says the climb at the start is the hardest part and worth it.

They also describe small pleasures that a guidebook might skip: a nap on the coach in the dark, a hot breakfast, wild camels and horses beside the road, a salt lake and a stop at Curtin Springs. Those details are part of what the day is, and they come with the drive you might otherwise count as a cost.

The overall score is 4.6 from 629 reviews. Reviews cannot tell you whether the day suits you, but they do show that visitors who go on it tend to be glad they did, which is the best single answer to the question in the title.