Tongariro field notes
Whakapapa Village

Taranaki Falls Loop

Easy Half day

The classic Whakapapa walk: open tussock with volcano views, beech forest, a gorge, and a 20 m waterfall over an old lava flow.

6.0 kmloop
2 hr loopwalking time
↑ 146 mclimb
1,216 mhigh point
DOC page ↗
Taranaki Falls Loop Taranaki Falls Loop © Krzysztof Golik · CC BY-SA 4.0
Taranaki Falls Walking Track 08 © Krzysztof Golik · CC BY-SA 4.0
Landscape in Tongariro National Park 04 © Krzysztof Golik · CC BY-SA 4.0

Elevation profile

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What you’ll see

  1. 1
    Whakapapanui Stream 04
    Forest· 1,050 m Whakapapanui Stream
  2. 2
    Taranaki Falls 12
    Waterfall· 1,200 m Taranaki Falls
  3. 3
    Mount Ngaurahoe as seen from Whakapapa Village
    Viewpoint· 1,220 m Ridge Track Lookout
Volcanic tussock plainsMountain beech forestWairere gorgeLava flow edgeViews of Ngāuruhoe & Ruapehu

The walk

Take the lower track first: it descends through mountain beech beside the Wairere Stream, passes Cascade Falls and crosses the stream in a small gorge before arriving below Taranaki Falls. Climb the steps beside the falls to the top of the lava flow, then return across open alpine tussock on the upper track with Ngāuruhoe and Ruapehu in front of you the whole way. The upper track is also the first leg of the Tama Lakes Track.

Direction. Anticlockwise: lower track out, upper track back, so the mountain views are ahead of you on the return.

Start. Whakapapa Village (Ngauruhoe Place)

Snow & season

Occasional snow

Walkable year-round. After a winter storm the upper track can hold a few centimetres of snow and the boardwalks ice over; the falls are spectacular with snow on the lava flow.

Best season: All year

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Nearby

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