Huge crowds attempt to scramble up Uluru before ban on climb takes effect

Huge crowds will attempt to scramble up Australia's Uluru before a ban on the climb takes effect.

The giant monolith - once better known to visitors as Ayers Rock - will be permanently off-limits from tomorrow.

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.

Photos of people in lines snaking up Uluru in past months have even drawn comparisons to recent scenes on Mount Everest.

BBC