Tongariro National Park: Volcanoes, the Alpine Crossing and Māori Heritage

Three active volcanoes rise from the heart of New Zealand’s North Island: Ruapehu, Ngāuruhoe and Tongariro. Around them lies Tongariro National Park, the country’s oldest national park and a World Heritage Site listed for both its volcanic landscape and its Māori cultural significance. Here you can ski on an active volcano in winter, walk past steaming vents and turquoise crater lakes in summer, and look for kiwi and native bats in the forests below.

A gift from Ngāti Tūwharetoa

The mountains are sacred to Ngāti Tūwharetoa, the iwi of the central North Island. On 23 September 1887, chief Te Heuheu Tūkino IV (Horonuku) conveyed the peaks of Tongariro, Ngāuruhoe and part of Ruapehu to the Crown on condition that they be protected. That gift founded the park, and the Tongariro National Park Act followed in 1894. Today it covers about 796 km².

UNESCO inscribed Tongariro as a World Heritage Site for its volcanic landscape in 1990 and added its cultural significance in 1993, making it a mixed natural and cultural site. Out of respect for the mountain’s tapu (sacred) nature, the Department of Conservation (DOC) asks walkers not to climb Ngāuruhoe.

Ruapehu, Ngāuruhoe and Tongariro: the three volcanoes

• Ruapehu (2,797 m) is the highest mountain on the North Island and the southernmost of the three. It had major eruptions in 1995–96. Its slopes carry two ski areas: Whakapapa, the largest, on the north-west side and Tūroa on the south-west.
• Ngāuruhoe (2,291 m) is the youngest vent of the Tongariro complex, with a distinct cone shape. It erupted 45 times in the 20th century, last in the mid-1970s. Peter Jackson used the area for Mordor and Mount Doom in The Lord of the Rings, filming on Ruapehu; DOC now asks tour operators not to call Ngāuruhoe “Mt Doom”.
• Tongariro is an ancient volcano with many craters and vents. Its Te Maari craters erupted in August and November 2012, throwing blocks onto the walking track and briefly closing it.

The Tongariro Alpine Crossing

The park’s most famous day walk passes between Tongariro and Ngāuruhoe. DOC lists it as a 20.2 km one-way route, usually walked from Mangatepopo to Ketetahi because that direction involves less climbing. Most walkers take about seven hours in good weather.

The highlights come in quick succession: the climb to Red Crater, the highest point at 1,886 m, then down to the vivid Emerald Lakes and along the edge of Blue Lake before the descent to Ketetahi. The Ketetahi hot springs lie on private Ngāti Tūwharetoa land outside the park and are closed to visitors.

Plan ahead:

• Book: DOC requires a booking for the crossing, made through its online form.
• Transport: parking at Mangatepopo is limited to four hours, so use a shuttle. Shuttles run from Ohakune, Taumarunui, Tūrangi and Taupō.
• Season: from May to October the crossing is an alpine route where snow can bury the marker poles; DOC says alpine skills are essential then and recommends going with a guide.

Wildlife, skiing and where to stay

More than 56 bird species live in the park, including the North Island brown kiwi, kākā, whio (blue duck) and New Zealand falcon. Its forests also shelter New Zealand’s only native land mammals, the short-tailed and long-tailed bats.

The visitor centre at Whakapapa Village is about 338 km south of Auckland and 337 km north of Wellington by road, and the park’s northern boundary lies a few kilometres west-southwest of Lake Taupō. Ohakune, Tūrangi and National Park Village border the park and make good bases; Ohakune is the town for Tūroa, and Whakapapa Village sits below the Whakapapa ski area.

For another protected volcanic and mineral landscape, explore Huanglong’s yellow dragon pools in China, and for ice meeting rainforest, see Queulat’s hanging glacier in Chile.

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