Short answer: three helicopter flights, three different jobs. The Uluru & Kata Tjuta Sunset Helicopter Flight from $489 is 36 minutes over both landmarks as they go red at dusk. The Kings Canyon & George Gill Range Helicopter from $459 is 30 minutes over the canyon from the Kings Canyon end. The Uluru, Kata Tjuta & Kings Canyon Heli Safari from $1,809 does all three in a day with a walk in the middle. Verdict: if you fly once, fly at sunset; if you are at Kings Canyon anyway, the 30-minute flight is the best-value way to feel properly small.
Prices are per person in AUD, from our current listings (October 2026), and can change.
| Flight | Length | What you see | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uluru & Kata Tjuta Sunset Helicopter Flight | 36 minutes | Wide loops of Uluru and Kata Tjuta at golden hour, desert running red between them | $489 |
| Kings Canyon & George Gill Range Helicopter | 30 minutes | Kings Canyon from directly above, the George Gill Range, Petermann Pound, Back Canyon | $459 |
| Uluru, Kata Tjuta & Kings Canyon Heli Safari | 5 hours (about two flying) | Uluru, Kata Tjuta, Lake Amadeus, the desert crossing, Kings Canyon, a Kings Creek bed walk | $1,809 |
One rule shapes all three. Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park belongs to the Anangu, its Traditional Owners; climbing has been banned since October 2019, and the flights loop around Uluru and Kata Tjuta at the closest distance the rules allow rather than over them. No loss. Altitude is for seeing the whole arrangement at once, and you cannot do that from on top of it.
Uluru & Kata Tjuta Sunset Helicopter Flight
You have seen the Uluru sunset photo. What the car park never shows you is the other half: Kata Tjuta’s 36 domes catching the same light out to the west, and the flat red country between them doing its slow burn from orange to rust to something close to purple. From the ground you pick one. From a helicopter you get both in the same 36 minutes, the domes’ shadows stretching across the sand like spilled ink.
The Uluru & Kata Tjuta Sunset Helicopter Flight from $489 leaves from the Town Square Helipad at Ayers Rock Resort in Yulara, walking distance from the resort hotels and the campground, so there is no transfer to organise. Maximum six passengers, with pilot commentary and photo tips in your headset. It rates 4.8 on TripAdvisor.
Best time: it picks for you, since it is timed to the last light. Book it for your first evening; weather can hold a flight, and a spare evening later is your insurance.
Who it suits: anyone who gets one splurge in the Red Centre, and anyone in Yulara without a car. If you are tossing up between this and the Kings Canyon flight, this is the one.
Kings Canyon & George Gill Range Helicopter
Kings Canyon is the quiet achiever of the Red Centre. It sits in Watarrka National Park about 300 km by road from Yulara, and most people meet it on the Rim Walk, puffing up the steps at dawn with the flies already awake. The walk is excellent. It also keeps you inside the canyon’s logic: walls, domes, the Garden of Eden waterhole, the Lost City. You never see the shape of the thing.
The Kings Canyon & George Gill Range Helicopter from $459 fixes that in 30 minutes. A free van collects you from Kings Canyon Resort, you lift off nearby, track over the sheer walls and along the George Gill Range, which from above looks like a rumpled blanket somebody dropped 440 million years ago, then out to Petermann Pound, where wild camels and brumbies are sometimes spotted. Sometimes, not always; do not book it for the camels. Back Canyon on the return leg, pilot narrating the geology throughout. Maximum four passengers, so everyone gets a window. Enclosed non-slip shoes are required, and passengers over 125 kg book an extra seat. It rates 4.8 on TripAdvisor.
Best time: flights run 8am to 5pm daily, weather permitting. Morning light is cleaner, and it slots neatly after an early Rim Walk, when you have earned sitting down.
Who it suits: anyone already at Kings Canyon with a few hours spare, which on a multi-day tour means the Kings Canyon day. It is the easiest of the three to justify, because it shows you something you cannot get on foot.
Uluru, Kata Tjuta & Kings Canyon Heli Safari
The Red Centre’s three headliners are hundreds of road kilometres apart, and the driving is most of what a 4-day tour is. The Uluru, Kata Tjuta & Kings Canyon Heli Safari from $1,809 swaps it for around two hours of flying: a van collects you from your Ayers Rock Resort hotel, you fly past Uluru and Kata Tjuta, cross the salt shimmer of Lake Amadeus and a great deal of empty desert, land at Kings Canyon Resort for a guided 45-to-60-minute walk along the Kings Creek bed, then fly back to Yulara. About four and a half hours door to door, maximum five passengers, departures daily 8am to 4pm, weather permitting. Lunch is not included, so bring water and snacks, and the Watarrka park pass is bought separately. It rates 4.8 on TripAdvisor.
Note what the Kings Canyon leg is: a creek bed walk, not the Rim Walk. You see the canyon from the air and from the bottom, not the top.
Best time: a morning departure, for the light on the way out and a cooler walk.
Who it suits: people with one day, a budget and no interest in the drive. For most backpackers it costs more than a 4-day tour that visits the same places and feeds you for three days.
Flight or tour? Spending the same money on the ground
The Quarter Uluru Segway & Sunset from $239 is five hours at the base: Segway the most scenic quarter of the rock, walk to Mutitjulu Waterhole and the Mala rock art, then watch the sunset with a glass of sparkling. Yulara resort transfers included, park entry not. It rates 4.8 on Google. Against the sunset flight it costs less and lasts five hours instead of 36 minutes, and you get up close to the rock’s textures instead of circling them. A different experience, not a lesser one.
The Uluru Sunset Day Tour from Alice Springs or Ayers Rock Resort from $329 is the guided ground sunset: Cultural Centre, Mala Walk, Mutitjulu Waterhole, then the viewing area with a drink in hand. The Alice Springs versions ($429 return) double as your transport to the rock. It rates 4.5 on Google.
The multi-day tours are the real comparison for the Heli Safari. The Uluru, Kata Tjuta & Kings Canyon 4 Day Tour, Swag (Alice Springs to Yulara) from $799 does Walpa Gorge, Uluru at sunset and sunrise, the full 10 km base walk, the Kings Canyon Rim Walk, three swag nights under a sky with no light pollution, meals and park fees, and ends at Yulara. The Uluru, Kata Tjuta, Kings Canyon & MacDonnell Ranges 5 Day Tour (Alice Springs Return) from $1,539 adds the West and East MacDonnell Ranges and a First Nations star talk. Both rate 4.8 on TripAdvisor, and our guide to Uluru tours goes through them properly.
So, the opinion. The Heli Safari is $1,809; the 4-day tour is $799 and the 5-day $1,539. One day at the rock and money no object: fine, it is a spectacular day. Four days: take the tour and spend the difference on the sunset flight on your last evening in Yulara. At current prices you get the walks, the swag nights and the best 36 minutes of the trip for less than the safari alone. For everything else at the rock, read how much an Uluru tour costs.
Good to know
Where flights leave from. Sunset flight: the Town Square Helipad at Ayers Rock Resort, Yulara. Heli Safari: van pickup from your Yulara hotel. Kings Canyon flight: free van pickup from Kings Canyon Resort, so you need to already be at the canyon, about 300 km from Yulara by road.
Timing. The sunset slot shifts through the year; book and it is set for you. The other two run through the day. All three are weather permitting, and wind and summer storms happen, so leave a buffer day if a flight matters to you.
Park pass. None of the flights include one. You need the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park pass on the ground at the rock (the Segway and sunset tours need it too) and the Watarrka pass for the Heli Safari’s Kings Canyon landing. The 4-day and 5-day tours include park entry.
Culture. The Anangu ask that certain sacred sites around Uluru not be photographed; signs at the base show where, and guides and pilots will brief you.
Getting to Yulara from Alice Springs. About 450 km and five and a half hours. Without a car, the Alice Springs to Ayers Rock Resort Coach Transfer from $269 does it one way in either direction, with an early Alice pickup and a midday-ish arrival. It runs set days each week, so check them before booking a flight at the other end. The 4-day tour is the other route: Alice to Yulara, which leaves you at the helipad with a spare evening. More on the region on our Uluru and Red Centre page.
FAQs
How much is a helicopter flight over Uluru?
The Uluru & Kata Tjuta Sunset Helicopter Flight is from $489 per person for 36 minutes over Uluru and Kata Tjuta at golden hour. The live price is on the tour page.
Can you fly directly over Uluru?
No. Flights loop around Uluru and Kata Tjuta at the closest distance regulations allow, in line with Anangu cultural protocols. You see both landmarks and the desert between them, which is the view you want anyway.
How much is a Kings Canyon helicopter flight?
The Kings Canyon & George Gill Range Helicopter is from $459 per person for 30 minutes over the canyon, the George Gill Range, Petermann Pound and Back Canyon, with a free van pickup from Kings Canyon Resort. To fly over Kings Canyon from Yulara instead, the Heli Safari from $1,809 covers Uluru, Kata Tjuta and Kings Canyon in one day. Every scenic flight we sell, Red Centre and beyond, is on our helicopter flight prices page.
Is the Kings Canyon helicopter flight worth it?
Yes, if you are already at the canyon. The Kings Canyon & George Gill Range Helicopter from $459 shows you the shape of the canyon and the range, which the Rim Walk cannot. Do it after the walk, not instead of it.
Do I need a park pass for a helicopter flight?
Not for the flight itself, but none of the flights include one, and you need the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park pass for anything on the ground at the rock. The Heli Safari also needs the Watarrka pass for its Kings Canyon landing.
Should I book a flight or a longer tour?
With four days, book the 4-day swag tour from $799 and add the sunset flight at the end; at current prices together they cost less than the Heli Safari, and you get the walks and swag nights too. With one day in Yulara and a loose budget, the Heli Safari is the fast way to see all three.
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