Kings Canyon (Watarrka National Park)

Sheer 100 Metre Sandstone Walls Around A Canyon In Watarrka National Park, Reached From Alice Springs Or Uluru On The Red Centre Way, With The Rim Walk Circling The Canyon Top Past The Palm Filled Garden Of Eden Waterhole · Kings Canyon, Northern Territory

Kings Canyon sits inside Watarrka National Park on the Red Centre Way, the sealed link between Alice Springs and Uluru, and is built around sheer sandstone walls rising about 100 metres straight out of the desert floor. The six kilometre Rim Walk circles the canyon top, climbing a steep initial section nicknamed Heart Attack Hill before levelling out across a plateau of weathered sandstone domes known as the Lost City, then descending to the Garden of Eden, a permanent waterhole and pocket of palms and cycads tucked into the canyon's shaded southern side. A flatter, shorter Kings Creek Walk follows the canyon floor for visitors not attempting the full rim circuit, ending at a lookout below the towering walls rather than above them. This is a distinct landform from both Uluru and the MacDonnell Ranges around Alice Springs, a canyon rather than a monolith or a range of gorges, and most visitors reach it on a loop drive between the two, staying one or two nights nearby rather than as a day trip from either town.

In Watarrka National Park, on the Red Centre Way between Alice Springs and Uluru, Kings Canyon, Northern Territory, Australia

The national park has no fixed opening hours and the Kings Creek Walk is open at any time, but the Rim Walk closes to new starters once temperatures climb, typically by mid-morning on hot days in the warmer months, with a posted cutoff at the trailhead checked by rangers. The resort and visitor facilities near the canyon keep standard daytime hours for food and fuel, with fewer services running in the quieter summer off season. Guided tours and helicopter flights operate on their own daytime timetables and are weather dependent. There are no overnight facilities inside the canyon itself; all accommodation sits a short drive away near the park entrance.

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