48 places worth the walk

The most dramatic viewpoint in the Whakapapa area: a crater lake directly below Ngāuruhoe.

A towering wall of jagged lava beside the ski-field base, used for Emyn Muil in The Lord of the Rings.

A gondola ride from 1,630 m to 2,020 m over lava gullies to New Zealand’s highest café.

A deep blue explosion crater lake on the saddle between Ruapehu and Ngāuruhoe.

A 20 m waterfall plunging over the edge of a 15,000-year-old lava flow.

The highest point of the Crossing: a steaming red crater with a dramatic lava dike.

Three vivid green-blue crater lakes, coloured by dissolved minerals from the vents around them.

The highest waterfall in the park, a 39 m curtain of water on the southern slopes of Ruapehu.

A 13 m waterfall over a lava lip, famous as Gollum’s Pool in The Lord of the Rings.

The easiest big view in the park: Ngāuruhoe and Ruapehu from a ridge above the village.

Creamy-white and golden mineral terraces where spring water runs over old lava.

A small waterfall over an old lava flow on the way to Silica Rapids.

Strange grassy hummocks left by a colossal landslide off Ruapehu, with a three-volcano panorama.

Sheltered beech forest beside a boulder-strewn mountain stream, home to whio (blue duck).

A remote valley loop below Ruapehu’s western lava flows, with a 20-bunk serviced hut.

The grand 1929 hotel that defines Whakapapa Village, framed by Ruapehu.

The highest road end in the North Island and the base of the Whakapapa ski area.

A 2,300 m ridge above Knoll Ridge with the widest panorama on the mountain.

A steaming, acidic lake inside the summit crater of an active volcano.

The North Island’s highest ground: glaciers, a summit plateau and a ring of peaks.

Alpine tarns that mirror Ruapehu’s southern peaks on a still morning.

A roadside waterfall in a mossy gorge, filmed as Ithilien in The Lord of the Rings.

A still forest lake sacred to Ngāti Rangi, with Ruapehu reflected in its water.

A curving 1908 railway viaduct you can walk across, on the historic Old Coach Road.

Ancient rimu and kāmahi forest beside the Mangawhero River at the foot of the mountain road.

Ruapehu’s southern ski area at 1,620 m, with the largest vertical drop in the country.

A hidden alpine tarn in the Mangaturuturu valley, reached by a wild backcountry route.

A classic 1950s alpine club hut on the western Round the Mountain Track.

A snug 18-bunk hut above Waitonga Falls with views over the southern plains.

A serviced hut on the quiet south-eastern side of Ruapehu.

A remote, tall waterfall in the Erua Forest west of National Park Village.

A forest lookout west of National Park with Mount Taranaki on the horizon.

A glacial valley floored with young lava flows beneath the cone of Ngāuruhoe.

A cold spring seeping from the base of a lava flow, surrounded by alpine wildflowers in summer.

A flat, silent moonscape between Ngāuruhoe and Tongariro.

A broad crater floor crossed by a dark lava flow from Red Crater.

A cold, deep-blue acidic lake filling an old vent, sacred to Ngāti Tūwharetoa.

Steaming hot springs on private Māori land, seen from the long descent to Ketetahi Road.

The perfect 2,291 m cone that played Mount Doom, the youngest vent of the Tongariro complex.

A 1,967 m summit side trip from Red Crater, with the whole crater complex at your feet.

A greenstone-coloured forest lake in a volcanic crater on the slopes of Pihanga.

A privately owned lake between Tongariro and Pihanga, seen from SH47 and the Crossing’s descent.

A valley of twisted lava pinnacles and a sheltered hut on the Northern Circuit.

Earthworks of the last battle of the New Zealand Wars (1869), with views to the volcanoes.

A high gravel desert in the volcanoes’ rain shadow, used for Mordor and the Black Gate.

The park’s oldest hut (1904) and its newest Great Walk hut, in beech forest on the eastern side.

A cold, crystal-clear spring that bursts from beneath an old lava flow at huge volume.

The classic drive-by panorama of all three volcanoes across the tussock plains.