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| Uluru climbing ban: Tourists scale sacred rock for final time | Uluru climbing ban: Tourists scale sacred rock for final time |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Huge crowds have scrambled up Australia's Uluru on the final day before the climb is banned. | |
| The giant monolith - once better known to visitors as Ayers Rock - will be permanently off limits from Saturday. | The giant monolith - once better known to visitors as Ayers Rock - will be permanently off limits from Saturday. |
| Uluru is sacred to its indigenous custodians, the Anangu people, who have long implored tourists not to climb. | Uluru is sacred to its indigenous custodians, the Anangu people, who have long implored tourists not to climb. |
| Only 16% of visitors went up in 2017 - when the ban was announced - but the climb has been packed in recent weeks. | Only 16% of visitors went up in 2017 - when the ban was announced - but the climb has been packed in recent weeks. |
| On Friday, climbers faced a delayed start to the climb due to dangerously strong winds. After parks officials deemed the climb safe to open, hundreds of people made the trek up. | |
| Photos of people in lines snaking up Uluru in past months have even drawn comparisons to recent scenes on Mount Everest. | Photos of people in lines snaking up Uluru in past months have even drawn comparisons to recent scenes on Mount Everest. |
| One social media user posted a timelapse showing the massive queue at Uluru on Thursday. | One social media user posted a timelapse showing the massive queue at Uluru on Thursday. |
| The entrance gate was due to be closed at 16:00 local time (06:30 GMT) on Friday. Once people come down, officials said a metal chain used as a climbing aid would be immediately dismantled. | |
| Why is the climb being closed? | Why is the climb being closed? |
| In 2017, the board of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park voted unanimously to end the climb because of the spiritual significance of the site, as well as for safety and environmental reasons. | In 2017, the board of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park voted unanimously to end the climb because of the spiritual significance of the site, as well as for safety and environmental reasons. |
| One Anangu man told the BBC that Uluru was a "very sacred place, [it's] like our church". | One Anangu man told the BBC that Uluru was a "very sacred place, [it's] like our church". |
| "People right around the world... they just come and climb it. They've got no respect," said Rameth Thomas. | "People right around the world... they just come and climb it. They've got no respect," said Rameth Thomas. |
| There are several signs at the base of Uluru that urge tourists not to climb because of the site's sacred value. | There are several signs at the base of Uluru that urge tourists not to climb because of the site's sacred value. |
| "It's difficult to see what that significance is," one man who climbed this week told the BBC. "It's a rock. It's supposed to be climbed." | "It's difficult to see what that significance is," one man who climbed this week told the BBC. "It's a rock. It's supposed to be climbed." |
| 'The burden will be lifted' | 'The burden will be lifted' |
| Phil Mercer, BBC News at Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park | Phil Mercer, BBC News at Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park |
| Rising from the desert, Uluru is stunning. Indigenous Australians say it has a power and a spirituality like nowhere else. | Rising from the desert, Uluru is stunning. Indigenous Australians say it has a power and a spirituality like nowhere else. |
| "The burden will be lifted as of today. I can feel it," says Donald Fraser, a local elder. "Now is the time for the climb to have a good rest and heal up." | "The burden will be lifted as of today. I can feel it," says Donald Fraser, a local elder. "Now is the time for the climb to have a good rest and heal up." |
| At the base of rock, crowds gathered on Friday before dawn for a chance to ascend one last time. | At the base of rock, crowds gathered on Friday before dawn for a chance to ascend one last time. |
| Treasured memories for some, but closing the climb will bring to an end years of distress for Aboriginal groups. | Treasured memories for some, but closing the climb will bring to an end years of distress for Aboriginal groups. |
| Nearby campgrounds and hotels were fully booked this week. This had led to tourists camping illegally and dumping waste, locals said. | Nearby campgrounds and hotels were fully booked this week. This had led to tourists camping illegally and dumping waste, locals said. |
| The climb's closure is not expected to significantly affect visitor rates to the national park, officials and tourism operators say. | The climb's closure is not expected to significantly affect visitor rates to the national park, officials and tourism operators say. |
| Since the 1950s, dozens of people have died on Uluru due to accidents, dehydration and other heat-related events. In 2018, a Japanese tourist died while attempting to ascend one of the steepest parts of the rock. | Since the 1950s, dozens of people have died on Uluru due to accidents, dehydration and other heat-related events. In 2018, a Japanese tourist died while attempting to ascend one of the steepest parts of the rock. |
| Uluru is 348m (1,142ft) high, and the climb is steep and can be slippery. Temperatures in the area can also reach 47C (116F) in the summer. | Uluru is 348m (1,142ft) high, and the climb is steep and can be slippery. Temperatures in the area can also reach 47C (116F) in the summer. |
| What are Uluru's sacred stories? | |
| The Anangu believe that in the beginning, the world was unformed and featureless. Ancestral beings emerged from this void and travelled across the land, creating all living species and forms. | |
| Uluru is the physical evidence of the feats performed by ancestral beings during this creation time. | |
| One such story is that of Lungkata, a greedy and dishonest blue-tongue lizard, who came to Uluru from the north and stole meat from Emu. When Emu followed him back to his cave, Lungkata ignored him. | |
| "He went back to sleep, pretending he was asleep," one of Uluru's indigenous custodians, Pamela Taylor, told the BBC last year. "Emu got very angry and made a fire and it went right up into the cave and the smoke blocked him and he fell down." | |
| Ms Taylor pointed to a huge blue patch high on Uluru, saying it was where Lungkata's burnt body rolled down and left a mark. | |
| "He did bad things by going around stealing. That's why we tell the children not to go around stealing things, because they will get punishment like Lungkata." | |
| She added some stories were too sacred to tell. | |
| Read more: 'This rock means everything to us' |