Tongariro National Park, located in the central North Island, is the oldest national park in New Zealand and the sixth national park created worldwide. It has been recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site because it has both cultural and natural importance.
The active volcanic mountains Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe, and Tongariro are in the center of the park. Three ski fields are located on the slopes of Mount Ruapehu. The park is also a popular place for hiking, fishing, hunting, and other outdoor activities. Tongariro National Park is home to the famous Tongariro Alpine Crossing, which is considered one of the best one-day hikes in the world.
The natural environment of the park includes temperate rainforest, beech forest, tussock shrubland, and alpine ecosystems. Many unique and native birds and plants live in the park.
There are several Māori religious sites within the park. Many of the park’s summits, including Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu, are considered sacred.
Small towns near the park’s boundary include Ohakune, Waiouru, Horopito, Pokaka, Erua, Waimarino (also known as National Park Village), and Tūrangi.
Māori relationship to the mountains
In Māori stories, the volcanoes in Tongariro National Park are seen as people. Different versions of the story tell that Tongariro and Taranaki both loved Ruapehu or Pihanga and fought a big battle. Taranaki lost and ran west toward the coast, creating the Whanganui River as it moved. The Tama Lakes, which are between Mount Ruapehu and Mount Ngauruhoe, are believed to show the space left when Taranaki left.
In 2017, the Department of Conservation told visitors not to climb the mountain peaks in Tongariro National Park because they are sacred to local iwi. Some Māori see the mountains as their ancestors, with the peaks representing the heads of these ancestors, and believe it is not right to stand on the heads of ancestors. The notice also asked tour companies to stop mentioning trips to mountain tops, remove pictures of people near or in sacred lakes, and stop calling Mount Ngauruhoe "Mount Doom." After this notice, fewer people climbed the mountains in the park.
The park is in the tribal areas (rohe) of two main iwi: Ngāti Tūwharetoa and Ngāti Rangi. The northern and western parts of the park, including the area near the top of Ruapehu, belong to Ngāti Tūwharetoa. Ngāti Rangi’s area includes the southern and south-western sides of Ruapehu. Other iwi with traditional connections to the park include Ngāti Hāua and Te Korowai o Wainuiārua from the Whanganui River region.
From 2004 to 2013, the Waitangi Tribunal studied Treaty of Waitangi claims related to Tongariro National Park. In July 2018, the government met with some iwi and agreed to delay negotiations until all groups with interests in the park had settled their claims. The cultural redress process aims to protect places important for spiritual reasons, recognize the traditional relationships of iwi with the environment, and give claimants more say in managing these areas.
History
According to Māori oral history, Ngātoro-i-rangi, an ancestor of the Ngāti Tūwharetoa people, climbed the volcanoes 30 generations ago. He named Tongariro and other natural features and claimed the area for his descendants.
Around 1750, Te Rangihiroa, the son of local chief Pakaurangi, explored the area around the volcanoes in the park. The Māori name for Blue Lake, near the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, is Te Wai-whakaata-o-te-Rangihiroa, which means "Rangihiroa's mirror." Te Rangihiroa's sister, Te Maari, gave her name to the Te Maari craters on Tongariro.
John Bidwill is believed to have been the first European to climb Mount Ngauruhoe in March 1839. His Māori guides refused to take him to the summit because it was sacred or tapu, so Bidwill climbed alone. He was met with anger when he returned to the village from which he had started. Bidwill may also have climbed Mount Tongariro. The chief Mananui Te Heu Heu Tūkino II then placed a tapu on the area. Dieffenbach, Governor George Grey, and Hochstetter were denied permission to ascend the volcanoes, and the artist George French Angas was forbidden from sketching the mountains.
Mananui and many of his family died in a landslide in 1846. His body and that of his wife were placed in a pataka (a storehouse raised on poles) at Pukawa and later moved to a burial cave on Mount Tongariro. In 1910, Mananui's remains were reinterred in a tomb at Waihī.
Henry Dyson climbed Ngauruhoe in March 1851, defying Mananui's tapu but with the support of Te Herekiekie of Tokaanu. Pierce Connelly, an artist, climbed Ngauruhoe in 1877, and William Collie, a photographer, climbed Ngauruhoe in 1878. Both were stripped of their belongings for breaking the tapu on the mountain. Donald Manson, a watch salesman from the United States, climbed Ngauruhoe in 1881 after paying Māori £10 for permission to do so.
Because the mountain summits were of great significance to local Māori and to prevent the selling of the mountains to European settlers, the Ngāti Tūwharetoa iwi had the mountains surveyed in the Native Land Court in 1886. They then set aside ("whakatapua") the area as a reserve in the names of certain chiefs. One of these chiefs was Te Heuheu Tūkino IV (Horonuku), the son of Mananui Te Heuheu Tūkino II and the most significant chief of the Ngāti Tūwharetoa iwi. The peaks of Mount Tongariro, Mount Ngauruhoe, and parts of Mount Ruapehu were conveyed to the Crown on 23 September 1887, with the condition that a protected area be established there.
Opposition to Te Heuheu's gift came from Te Moanapapaku Te Huiatahi. Te Huiatahi petitioned Parliament on behalf of 180 people, stating that most of Tongariro belonged to him, not Te Heuheu. He claimed he owned the land by ancestry and occupation and said his hapū had 200 whare (dwellings) on the land in question. His claim was denied.
The 26.4 km (10.2 square miles) area given by Te Heuheu was considered too small to establish a national park, so further areas were acquired. When the New Zealand Parliament passed the Tongariro National Park Act in October 1894, the park covered about 252.13 km (97.35 square miles). It took until 1907 to acquire the land.
In 1908, a scientific party consisting of botanist Leonard Cockayne, forester and surveyor Edward Phillips Turner, and geologist Robert Speight spent several months exploring and surveying the park. They presented a report to Parliament detailing the flora, fauna, and geology of the region and recommended that the park's boundaries be expanded. Cockayne also noted the importance of protecting the environment from development and introduced pests.
The park area was extended to 586.8 km (226.6 square miles) when the Act was renewed in 1922. Further extensions, especially Pihanga Scenic Reserve in 1975, enlarged the park to its current size of 786.23 km (303.57 square miles). The last modification to the Act was passed in 1980. Tongariro National Park has been under the control of the New Zealand Department of Conservation since the department was created in 1987. A sculpture and plaque at the visitor centre in Whakapapa Village commemorate Te Heuheu's gift to New Zealand.
The first development in the young Tongariro National Park was the construction of tourist huts at the beginning of the 20th century. However, it was not until the opening of the North Island Main Trunk railway line between Auckland and Wellington in 1908 and the building of roads in the 1920s that a significant number of people visited the park. This early tourist development explains the existence of a permanently inhabited village and fully developed ski area within a national park. Skiing on the mountains in the park became popular from about 1914, when the Ruapehu Ski Club was established. The first ski hut was built on Mount Ruapehu in 1923 at an elevation of 1770 meters, and a ski lift was constructed in 1938–1939. The second Tongariro National Park Act, in 1922, started active conservation efforts, and in 1923 a park ranger was appointed.
The first motor vehicle reached Wh
Geography
Tongariro National Park covers about 796 square kilometers (307 square miles), including the Pihanga Scenic Reserve. It surrounds the group of three active volcanoes—Mount Ruapehu, Mount Ngauruhoe, and Mount Tongariro—in the center of the North Island. The park’s northern edge is just a few kilometers west-southwest of Lake Taupō. The Tongariro National Park Visitor Centre at Whakapapa Village is 338 kilometers (210 miles) south of Auckland by road and 337 kilometers (209 miles) north of Wellington.
Pihanga Scenic Reserve, though not connected to the main park, is part of the national park. It covers 51.29 square kilometers (19.8 square miles), including Lake Rotopounamu, Mount Pihanga, and the Kakaramea-Tihia Massif.
Most of the park is in the Ruapehu District (Manawatū–Whanganui Region), but the northeast is in the Taupō District (Waikato Region or Hawke’s Bay Region to the north).
Three towns are near the park: Tūrangi, Waimarino (formerly National Park Village), and Ohakune. Other nearby towns include Waiouru and Raetihi. Two Māori settlements, Papakai and Otukou, are not part of the park but are located west of Lake Rotoaira between the Pihanga Scenic Reserve and the main park area. Inside the park, the only settlement is Whakapapa Village, which focuses on tourism. The Chateau Tongariro, accommodations, and the Tongariro National Park Visitor Centre are located there. Temporary visitor accommodations are also available at Iwikau Village on the Whakapapa ski field and at the Tukino ski field.
Rangipo Desert (also called Te Onetapu) is an uninhabited area of about 100 square kilometers (39 square miles) east of Mount Ruapehu. Part of it is owned by the army, and the rest is in the park. It receives 1,500–2,500 mm (59–98 inches) of rainfall yearly but appears like a desert because of poor soil, sparse plants, strong winds, and erosion. Frosts and heavy snowfall are common in winter. The part of State Highway 1 that passes through the desert is called the Desert Road.
Ketetahi hot springs is an area of 39 hectares (96 acres) on the northern slope of Mount Tongariro. Though within the park, it was never part of Tongariro National Park. Hikers on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing used to walk near the hot springs, but the Māori owners, Ketetahi Springs Trust, closed the route because they opposed commercial guides using their land. In 2010, the Department of Conservation agreed to change the route of the Tongariro Alpine Crossing to avoid crossing private land.
Like all of New Zealand, Tongariro National Park is in a temperate zone. Westerly winds gather water over the Tasman Sea and hit the volcanoes first as they move across the central North Island. Rain falls on at least half the days in the western and northern parts of the park. Rainfall differences between east and west are smaller than in the Southern Alps because the volcanoes are not part of a larger mountain range, but there is still a rain shadow effect. The Rangipo Desert on the eastern side receives about 2,000 mm (79 inches) of rain yearly. At Whakapapa Village (elevation 1,119 meters), the average annual rainfall is about 2,200 mm (87 inches). In Ohakune (610 meters), it is about 1,250 mm (49 inches), and at higher altitudes, like Iwikau Village (1,770 meters), it is about 4,900 mm (190 inches). In winter, snow covers areas up to 1,500 meters. Temperatures change greatly even within one day. At Whakapapa, temperatures can drop below freezing all year. The average temperature is 13°C, with summer highs of 25°C and winter lows of -10°C. In some summers, snow covers the peaks of the three volcanoes, and snowfields are present on Mount Ruapehu every summer.
Many rivers start in the park, including the Waikato, Whangaehu, and Whanganui rivers. The Waikato River, sacred to Māori, begins on Mount Ruapehu. The Wahianoa River, Whangaehu River, and Mangawhero River also start on Mount Ruapehu. To the west, the Whanganui River and its tributary, the Mangatepōpō Stream, begin on Mount Tongariro and flow into Whanganui National Park. The Tāwhitikuri Stream starts in the park and flows into the Mangatepōpō. Water from rivers and streams in the park is directed to the Tongariro Power Scheme outside the park.
Geology
The park's volcanoes are located at the southern end of a 2,500 km-long (1,600 mi) chain of volcanoes that extends to Samoa. This chain forms where the Australian Plate meets the Pacific Plate. The volcanoes were created by forces inside the Earth's crust. The Pacific Plate moves under the Australian Plate and melts because of the high heat in the asthenosphere, a hot layer beneath the Earth's surface. This melted rock, called magma, is lighter than the surrounding rock and rises through weak areas in the Earth's crust, such as faults, causing volcanic activity.
Volcanic activity has been forming the mountains of Tongariro National Park for more than two million years. Three volcanoes—Tongariro, Ngauruhoe, and Ruapehu—are still active. The park's two northernmost volcanoes, Pihanga and the Kakaramea-Tihia Massif, last erupted over 20,000 years ago. These older volcanoes have produced major mudflows in recorded history.
Mountain glaciers have also helped shape Mount Tongariro and Mount Ruapehu. Small glaciers exist on the top of Mount Ruapehu today, but there is clear evidence that glaciers covered the area more widely in the recent past. Glaciers were last present on Tongariro during the Last Glacial Maximum, a time of widespread ice coverage.
Ecology
The park has many different areas with plants that have clear edges: forest, shrub, scrubland, tussock, fernland, sedgeland, rushland, moss field, gravel and stone fields, and ice fields. The types of plants in these areas are usually influenced by how high above sea level they are. For example, mountain beech trees are often found above 1,000 meters, but other factors also play a role. Some forests grew after the Taupō pumice eruption, which destroyed forests in the park’s northern and eastern areas. Tussock and shrubland areas often form after fires, except those above the tree line, which depend on climate and soil. Poor soil drainage near Hauhungatahi caused bracken fernlands, sedgeland, and rushlands. In gravel and stone fields, erosion and climate conditions allow only small tussock and shrubs to grow.
In the northern part of the park, south of State Highway 47, there is a podocarp-broadleaf rainforest. This area includes Hall’s totara, kahikatea, rimu, northern rātā, kāmahi, and kaikawaka trees. The forest floor has plants like mountain cabbage trees, Coprosma tenuifolia, Cyathea smithii, black maire, māhoe, bush flax, epiphytes, and grasses and ferns such as crown fern. At lower altitudes, there are areas with kānuka, mānuka, and bracken.
Beech forests, including red beech, silver beech, and mountain beech, grow on Tongariro, near the Waihohonu Huts, and to the south and west of Ruapehu. Red mistletoe grows on mountain beech trees in summer near Whakapapa Village.
To the northwest of the park and around the three mountains, between 1,200 and 1,500 meters, there are tussock and shrubland areas. The tussock is mainly made up of red tussock grass, mountain inaka, wire rush, monoao, and tangle fern. West of Tongariro, exotic heather with pink and mauve flowers grows on better-drained soil, where it competes with native plants like red tussock and mountain inaka.
Gravel and stone fields support mountain inaka, bristle tussock, snow totara, and snowberry at about 1,100–1,550 meters. Mountain inaka grows in crevices and on stable ground. Red tussock, mountain daisies, and other tussocks grow here, but frost often damages the plants. Orchids like the leek-leaved orchid and green-hooded orchid grow in sub-alpine and alpine areas. Mosses, including species of Rhacomitrium, are found near the Blue Lake on Tongariro, and moss fields grow on other moist gravel slopes. Above 1,770 meters, parahebes, everlasting daisies, and mountain carrot grow up to about 2,000 meters. Above that, only crustose lichens grow on stable rocks.
The park has more than 56 bird species, including rare native birds like the North Island brown kiwi, kākā, blue duck, North Island fernbird, double-banded plover, and New Zealand falcon. Other common birds include tūī, New Zealand bellbird, morepork, grey warbler, fantail, whitehead, and silvereye. The park is also home to the only two native mammals in New Zealand: the short-tailed and long-tailed bat. The park has many insects, such as moths and wētā. Animals introduced by Europeans, like black rats, stoats, cats, rabbits, hare, possums, and red deer, also live in the park.
Conservation
In the early 1900s, park officials, including John Cullen, brought calluna heather to the park to help create conditions for grouse hunting. Grouse were introduced in 1924, but they soon disappeared. The heather grew well, which led to criticism by the 1920s because it harmed the park’s ecosystem and native plants. In 1996, the heather beetle Lochmaea suturalis was brought to control the heather, but at first, it was not very effective. Between 1996 and 2018, the beetles damaged only 5,000 hectares of heather. However, research in 2021 showed that the beetles were spreading and killing the heather. Since 2018, the beetles have damaged more than 35,000 hectares of heather, reducing its cover by up to 99% in some areas. This allowed native plants to recover. The New Zealand Defence Force no longer needs to spray herbicides on large parts of its training ground near the park. A 2024 study found that heather now covers about one-third of the park’s landscape. Heather has caused the loss of native ferns, sedges, and rushes and has changed the growth of red tussock. An underground fungus that helps the tussock grow was also affected by the spread of heather.
Pine trees were introduced to New Zealand in the 1930s for forestry and to prevent soil erosion. However, wilding pines—trees that grow from seeds carried by the wind—became a widespread problem. Since the 1960s, volunteers and the government have worked to remove wilding pines on Mount Ruapehu because they harm native plants, use water, and damage the environment. Tongariro National Park received funding from the National Wilding Conifer Control Programme, started in 2016, to help control pines nationwide. By 2023, the program had stopped the spread of wilding pines in the Tongariro area, including the national park, and removed most sources of seeds.
Until the mid-1900s, wild horses, descendants of animals brought to New Zealand in the 1800s, lived in the park and nearby areas. After their numbers dropped due to hunting and habitat changes, the horses, now called Kaimanawa horses, were protected by the government in 1981. The Department of Conservation manages the horses to ensure they do not return to Tongariro National Park.
Red deer were released in Tongariro National Park in the late 1800s, and sika deer were introduced to the Kaimanawas in 1905. These deer later spread to the park. By the 1940s, deer were seen as a threat to plants, and the government began culling them to reduce their numbers. In 1962, deer were spotted near the Chateau, showing their population was larger than expected. Private hunters are allowed to shoot deer in the park to help control their numbers.
The Department of Conservation (DoC) works to control feral goats in Tongariro National Park. In 2024, a helicopter with thermal imaging technology searched 16,000 hectares of the park for goats but found none. DoC says regular monitoring and quick action are better than trying to remove a large goat population later.
Pigs live in small numbers in the Rotopounamu-Mount Pihanga area and on the northern slopes of Mount Tongariro. Pigs harm plants by eating seedlings, berries, and roots, which increases erosion and sends sediment into rivers. They also eat the eggs of ground-dwelling birds like kiwi. The DoC hunts pigs to keep their numbers low, and private hunting is allowed.
The Tongariro Natural History Society, also called Project Tongariro, was started by volunteers in 1984 to honor park staff who died in a 1982 helicopter accident. Since the 1980s, the group has worked on projects in the park, such as restoring Lake Rotopounamu, fixing areas used in filming The Lord of the Rings, surveying blue duck habitats, and restoring the Hapuawhenua Viaduct.
Between July 2022 and March 2023, 9% of international visitors to New Zealand visited Tongariro National Park. Over-tourism is a problem, especially on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, where visitors increased from 10,000 in 1990 to 125,000 in 2015. Managing more visitors, waste, and toilet facilities has become difficult. The environment also suffers, and park staff handle more rescue calls. In 2023, the DoC introduced a booking system for the Tongariro Alpine Crossing to help manage visitor numbers.
On November 8, 2025, a fire started near State Highway 47, east of Waimarino, when a vehicle lost a wheel. Sparks from the vehicle’s undercarriage ignited dry vegetation. The fire quickly spread, forcing hikers to evacuate from the Tongariro Alpine Crossing and Whakapapa Village to leave on November 9. By November 9, the fire covered about 2,500 hectares. By November 10, it had grown to 2,800 hectares. Rain and light winds helped control the fire. The area burned was scrub and forest regenerating after major fires in 1918 and 1947. Nick Singers, a technical advisor for Project Tongariro, said dead heather made the fire more intense. Ecological threats after the fire include the return of invasive plants like heather, broom, gorse, and wilding pines.
Activities
The main recreational activities in the park are hiking and climbing during the summer, and skiing and snowboarding during the winter.
Many roads run along the edges of Tongariro National Park and provide access. In the west, State Highway 4 passes through Waimarino (National Park Village), and in the east, State Highway 1 runs next to the Tongariro River. State Highway 47 connects these two highways to the north of much of the park, though it crosses the Pihanga Scenic Reserve. To the south, State Highway 49 is used. The North Island Main Trunk railway, which connects Auckland to Wellington, also passes through Waimarino.
The main entrance to the park is at Whakapapa Village, reached via State Highway 48. A mountain road leads from Whakapapa Village to Iwikau Village, the base of the Whakapapa ski field. On the Turoa side, the Ohakune Mountain Road connects Ohakune township to the base of the Turoa ski field. This road climbs 910 meters through forests and grasslands. A separate road also provides access to the Tukino ski field. These three roads rise above 1,700 meters. Other roads, such as Mangatepopo Road and Ketetahi Road, lead to the start and end of the Tongariro Alpine Crossing.
The most popular hiking trail in the park is the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. Much of this trail is also part of the Tongariro Northern Circuit, a two- to four-day hike that is one of New Zealand’s ten Great Walks. Side trips to the tops of Mount Tongariro and Mount Ngauruhoe are possible on these trails, though the Department of Conservation advises against them. Another route is the three- to six-day Round the Mountain Track around Mount Ruapehu. Many shorter trails are also available for day hikes. Rock climbing is another activity offered.
The snow season runs from late June to early November. The largest ski area, Whakapapa, is on the north-western slopes of Mount Ruapehu. As of 2026, it has 12 lifts covering 5.5 kilometers. The base of the ski field is at Iwikau Village, 6 kilometers from the Tongariro National Park Visitor Centre. Iwikau Village has 46 ski club huts, most of which can be used by non-members. Other facilities are located in Whakapapa Village.
A second ski area, Turoa, is on the south-western slope. It has nine lifts and covers 5 kilometers. No accommodations are available at Turoa; the nearest town is Ohakune. These two ski areas were managed together since 2000. The company managing them later went into receivership, and in 2023, Pure Tūroa, a Māori group, signed a 10-year lease for Turoa. Management of Whakapapa remained with the receivers.
Another ski area, Tukino, is a club-operated field open to the public. It has three rope tows covering 1.7 kilometers and is accessed via a 4WD road from State Highway 1. The Tukino field is managed by the Tukino Mountain Clubs Association, which includes three local ski clubs. Each club has its own accommodation on the field.
Mountain biking was originally only allowed on main roads in the park. A 2011 review of the National Park Management Plan allowed public mountain biking on two additional routes: the Old Coach Road and the path from the Desert Road to the Pillars of Hercules (a gorge on the Tongariro River). A 2018 review added more mountain biking trails, including routes from Turoa to Ohakune, Ohakune to Horopito, and Horopito to National Park. This review also allowed e-bikes on approved routes.
The first part of Te Ara Mangawhero, a shared walking and cycling trail between Mount Ruapehu and Ohakune, opened in November 2024. Built by Ngāti Rangi, the Department of Conservation, and the Ruapehu District Council, the 11.4-kilometer loop passes through sub-alpine forest along an old tramway. The trail is expected to extend toward Turoa ski field and become part of the Mountains to Sea trail from Mount Ruapehu to the Whanganui River.
Recreational activities in the park, especially in high areas, can be dangerous due to sudden weather changes, falls, or being unprepared. Memorials in the park honor visitors who died in the past. Horace Holl, a climber who drowned in 1927, is remembered near the Mangaturuturu Hut on the 'Round the Mountain' track. Warwick Stanton, an 18-year-old student who died in 1931 during a storm on Mount Ruapehu, is honored with a plaque in the Whakapapaiti Valley. The Mountain Guides Act was passed in 1931 to license guides and reduce future tragedies.
Recent incidents include deaths from hypothermia in 2018 and 2019, a climber who died in 2020, and skiing accidents in 2022 and 2024. A 2017 report showed that Tongariro National Park had the most search and rescue incidents among New Zealand’s conservation areas.
Sudden weather changes have caused major incidents. In 1990, six soldiers died in a blizzard on Mount Ruapehu. In 2008, six students and a teacher died in a flash flood in the Mangatepopo Canyon.
Air accidents in the park include a plane crash in 1948 that killed 13 people and a helicopter crash in 1982 that killed five.
Mounts Ruapehu, Tongariro, and Ngauruhoe are active volcanoes, posing risks from eruptions or lahars (volcanic mudflows). In
In popular culture
A 1984 movie called Wild Horses was filmed in the park. The story is about a disagreement between people who care for wild horses, those who manage deer populations, and park workers.
Peter Jackson filmed parts of The Lord of the Rings trilogy on Mount Ruapehu. These scenes included places that looked like Mount Doom, Ithilien, and Mordor. Visitors can see locations such as the Mangawhero River, Whakapapa ski field, and Tukino ski field.
Mount Ngauruhoe appeared in the movie Hunt for the Wilderpeople.
The landscapes of Tongariro National Park were used as the background for Queen Bavmorda’s castle in the 1988 film Willow.