Tongariro - New Zealand Travel Information

Photos from Tongariro

טרק טונגרירו קרוסינג - Tongariro Crossing Trek

המכתש האדום - טרק טונגרירו קרוסינג - The red crater

בריכות האיזמרגד - טרק טונגרירו קרוסינג - Emerald Pools

האגם הכחול - טרק טונגרירו קרוסינג - Blue Lake

The Tongariro reserve was given to the New Zealand goverment as a gift from the local Mauri tribe.

UNESCO declared Tongariro in 1990 as a World Heritage Site.

Tongariro Crossing Treck

Tongariro Crossing trek is justifiably considered as the most beautiful one-day trek of New Zealand. The trail climbs amazing volcanoes, drops to beautiful pools with picturesque lakes for a background, and all in a one day tour!

The Tongariro Crossing trek crosses the Tongariro reserve, which was formally declared as a World Heritage Site. The reserve was originally given to the government as a present by the Maori tribe living in the area.

The trek includes Tongariro volcano that appeared as "Mount Doom" in the "Lord of the Ring" movie.

But there is one problem with this trek... its length. The trek is 17 km with an exhausting climb in its beginning. Therefore, reasonable fitness is required in order to do this trek. As long as your breaks are not too long, almost anyone can do it.

The Best season to walk the trek is during the summer (December to March). However, the weather always depends on luck, and it might rain at any time (and then again the sun might come out...). The weather in the area is unpredictable and cold. Travellers who take the trek must be ready for rain and coldness even if the day seems clear!

All the photos in this page are from Tongariro Crossing trek, which is the one-day trek.

Route

The trek starts at the entrance to Mangatepopo valley and curves along the valley up to the saddle between the Tongariro volcano and the Ngauruhoe volcano. From there the trek continues to climb to the Red Crater, 1886 meter above sea level.

From this point, most of the trail is downwards. The trek goes down to the Emerald Lakes, then surrounds the blue lake to the beginning of the way back down towards the exit point. Towards the end there is long part with thousands of downward stairs. Unfortunately there is no way to by-pass the last part and escape the stairs.

Tips

Take a lot of water with you (at least 3 liters per person).
Don't be tempted to take long breaks along the way so that you won't need to rush on the last part. The time you have from the time you arrive to the park until the bus leavs from the park is defiantly enough for a reasonable walking pace, as long as your breaks are not too long.
Don't go on the trek if you have knee problems.

Getting there

Taupo is the city which is the home base for the trek, and daily buses takes travelers from Taupo up to the park. Travellers who want to save money might park their car (if they have one) closer, but it might not be worth it due to the car break-ins that are a problem in the area.

Tongariro Crossing is not a circular trek!

A round trip by bus from Taupo to the park costs about 30 NZD. The bus leaves at 06:30 AM, and arrive to the park at 08:30. Returning from the park, the bus leaves twice a day: at 15:43 and at 17:15. These timings require you to complete the trek in 9 hours (usually it takes 7-8 hours). Although officially there is no way to return to Taupo after the last bus leaves, in practice, the last bus will not leave until the last traveler is on it. In case the last traveler doesn't show up, a rescue team will be sent.