---
title: "How many steps up Sky Tower? 1,103"
description: "1,103 steps up Sky Tower in Auckland, New Zealand. Restricted — events or permit only. What that count reaches, the height climbed, and how it compares."
url: https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/sky-tower-auckland/
site: "At One Place"
---

# How many steps to the top of Sky Tower?

**Steps to the top of Sky Tower: 1,103**

Reaching the Sky Deck at 220 m · restricted — events or permit only

The stairwell opens for the annual Firefighter Sky Tower Stair Challenge, in which competitors climb 1,103 steps wearing full breathing apparatus and turnout gear weighing around 25 kg. It is one of the hardest organised stair climbs in the world for that reason. Ordinary visitors take a glass-fronted lift that reaches the main observation level in 40 seconds. The tower is the tallest free-standing structure in the southern hemisphere.

## The numbers

- **Steps:** 1,103
- **Reaches:** the Sky Deck at 220 m
- **Public access:** Restricted — events or permit only
- **Where:** Auckland, New Zealand
- **Height climbed:** 220 m — 722 ft
- **Average rise per step:** 199 mm

## What the climb is like

Charity event only. In full firefighting kit the fastest times are around 7 minutes.

> These steps are not open on an ordinary visit. Access is limited to organised events, races or permit holders.

> Published counts for the same structure routinely disagree by five to ten per cent, and nearly always for one of three reasons: whether intermediate landings count as steps, whether the final platform step counts, and where the climb is deemed to start. The figure here says what it reaches.

## How it compares

*Only the ones marked open to climb can actually be walked.*

- Kotohira-gū (Konpira-san): 1,368 steps
- Q1 Tower (SkyPoint Climb): 1,331 steps
- Tiger Cave Temple (Wat Tham Suea): 1,237 steps
- Sky Tower: 1,103 steps
- Gateway Arch: 1,076 steps
- Berliner Fernsehturm: 986 steps
- Washington Monument: 897 steps

*Sky Tower ranks 15 of 56 here by step count.*

| Structure | Steps | Reaches | Access |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Kotohira-gū (Konpira-san) | 1,368 | the inner shrine, Okusha; 785 steps reach the main shrine | Open to climb |
| Q1 Tower (SkyPoint Climb) | 1,331 | the SkyPoint observation deck at 230 m | Open to climb |
| Tiger Cave Temple (Wat Tham Suea) | 1,237 | the summit shrine and golden Buddha on the limestone peak | Open to climb |
| Sky Tower | 1,103 | the Sky Deck at 220 m | Restricted — events or permit only |
| Gateway Arch | 1,076 | the observation area at the top of the arch, via the emergency stairs — no public access | Not climbable by the public |
| Berliner Fernsehturm | 986 | the sphere at 203 m, via the emergency staircase — no public access | Not climbable by the public |
| Washington Monument | 897 | the observation level at 152 m — stairs closed to the public | Not climbable by the public |

## Common questions

### How many steps to the top of Sky Tower?

1,103, reaching the Sky Deck at 220 m.

### Can the public climb Sky Tower?

Restricted — events or permit only. Charity event only. In full firefighting kit the fastest times are around 7 minutes.

### How high is that climb?

220 m, about 722 ft, which averages 199 mm per step.

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## Sources

- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place (/about/)