Why a scenic flight is the best thing to do in Uluru

by ling and jace

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park is on Anangu land. We acknowledge and pay our respects to the Traditional Owners and celebrate the ongoing connection of Aboriginal people to the land and water of Australia.

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An aerial view of the full moon rising over Uluru, taken from a scenic flight — *The full moon rising over Uluru in a red glow*

One of the best activities to do while visiting the heart of Australia is book a scenic flight over Uluru, Kata Tjuta and Lake Amadeus.

From above, we could clearly see each rock formation glow red under a huge full moon.

We wanted to take a scenic flight because there are so many mystical areas around Uluru which aren’t accessible on the ground. Lake Amadeus is one of them.

We first came across this lake while whimsically scrolling around the red centre on Google Earth. We were looking at rock formations in the huge expanse of red dust and saw a bright white area beyond the rock. That bright white area turned out to be the largest salt lake in the Northern Territory.

The pastel textures of Lake Amadeus are out of this world and can only really be seen from above.

This post contains everything that you need to know to book a scenic flight in Uluru at a range of prices.

We loved capturing this trip and if you like any of these photos, you can find us on Instagram here:

@ling.and.jace

Aerial view of Uluru and Kata Tjuta taken from a scenic flight — *Kata Tjuta and Uluru in the distance*

Aerial view of Lake Amadeus taken from a scenic flight — *Lake Amadeus, shot from small plane tour*

The best time to book a scenic flight in ULURU

The colours in Uluru are usually the most vibrant at the start and end of the day, so we recommend booking a scenic flight around sunrise or sunset. This is when the rocks glow their deepest red, their shadows are long, and you can catch the sun or moon rising above the horizon.

Depending on when you travel to Uluru, a sunrise or sunset scenic flight may also be the most comfortable option due to the heat. Tour operators generally run less scenic flights during the warmer months (October - March), where temperatures can sit between 35°C and 45°C. In winter, it’s a lot cooler and the sun sets much earlier, making mid-morning or mid-afternoon an ideal time for a scenic flight.

Scenic flight options from ULURU

There are many options for scenic flight tours around Uluru, depending on the length of time, budget, and landscapes that you’re interested in seeing. For each attraction, we’ve included the best option that we could find for a helicopter or small plane tour over the area. We have listed them in order of price and length.

All of the tours that we’ve listed below include transport to and from hotels in Yulara to the airport.

ULURU

If you want to see Uluru itself from above, the best option is to book a short helicopter tour. Shorter scenic flights tend to run more frequently throughout the day and can be booked at either sunrise or sunset for the most vivid colours over the rock.

This 15 minute scenic flight over Uluru is one of the more affordable scenic flight tours that we’ve found.

Price: starting at AUD $180

ULURU AND KATA TJUta

If you’re able to fly a bit further, we’d recommend including Kata Tju ta on a scenic flight. Kata Tjuta is around 50 kilometres away from Uluru. It is one of the most dominant rock formations in the area and reaches well over 500 metres at its peak.

Both landscapes can be reached through this 30 minute scenic flight option from Ulu ru to Kata Tjuta.

Price: starting at AUD $295

An aerial view of Kata Tjuta Valley, taken from a scenic flight — *The valleys of Kata Tjuta*

LAKE AMADEUS, ULURU AND KATA TJUta

Out of all options for scenic flights, if you have the budget for it, we’d recommend taking take a scenic flight over Uluru, Kata Tjuta and Lake Amadeus.

Lake Amadeus isn’t accessible by car or on the ground, so we were really grateful for the chance to see it from above during our scenic flight. While the majority of scenic flight tours run from Uluru to Kata Tjuta or King’s Canyon, Lake Amadeus is a quieter, lesser-known landscape in the area, making it one of the more surreal activities to do in Uluru.

Lake Amadeus is around 180 kilometres long and 10 kilometres wide. It’s a mostly dry lake which sometimes pools after periods of rainfall, attracting camels to its huge islands.

There are two options for seeing Lake Amadeus on a scenic flight:

We’ve included both options as some people understandably feel more comfortable in a helicopter than a small plane. We chose to book the small plane tour as it was slightly cheaper and the flight lasted for a whole hour.

Helicopter price: starting at $590

Small plane price: starting at $435

King's canyon

On our trip to Uluru we road tripped to Watarrka National Park, some of the most beautiful landscapes on the way. One of the longest scenic flight options in the area is a two hour small plane tour from Ulu ru to King’s Canyon, which also passes over Kata Tjuta and Lake Amadeus.

Price: starting at $870

Alternatively, if you’re visiting Watarrka National Park on your trip to the red centre, helicopter tours also run from the nearest airport (in Petermann), like this 15-minute scenic helicopter flight over King’s Canyon.

Price: starting at $190