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Tongariro Alpine Crossing

80+ photos from a February 2024 hike.

Map of the Tongariro Alpine Crossing route
Key points on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing.

The Tongariro Alpine Crossing is variously known as New Zealand’s Best One-Day Trek / New Zealand’s Greatest Day Walk / a Top Ten Single-Day Trek in The World, and in this post you’ll see 80+ photos from a fine day on the trail in February 2024, with some info on the area and comments on the various sections of the hike included for your perusal.

Contents

Photos: Leica D-LUX 5, iPhone SE OG, and a couple of shots from HJ’s iPhone.

Tongariro National Park

Tongariro National Park is New Zealand’s oldest national park. It was established in 1887 and is one of the first six national parks in the world.

Inside the boundaries of the park are Mount Ruapehu, Mount Tongariro, and Mount Ngauruhoe—all three of which are active volcanoes.

The most recent eruption (at the time of writing) was in 2012, from the Te Māri craters on the eastern slopes of Tongariro. Red Crater currently contains fumaroles, and erupted a little bit in 1926. Ngauruhoe’s most recent eruption was in 1977, unless we’re including the CGI from the Lord of the Rings movies. Solidified lava flows and other volcanic debris can be seen near the trail throughout much of the hike.

The land that makes up the park area belonged to the Ngāti Tūwharetoa tribe, and the peaks of the mountains are considered sacred.

Hiking the Tongariro Alpine Crossing

The hike starts in the Mangatepopo Valley and climbs to cross the volcanic craters between the peaks of Mount Ngauruhoe and Mount Tongariro, topping out on the northern rim of Red Crater, and then passing several crater lakes before finishing with the long walk out by Ketetahi Hot Springs and through the Okahukura Bush.

It’s a somewhat difficult hike to do. Not physically difficult (if you’re in decent shape), but because a) it’s an A-to-B track, which makes the transport tricky, and b) the weather can get rather dirty at very short notice, which means the shuttle services will cancel for safety reasons (also at very short notice).

Hike stats: it’s 20km from Mangatepopo car park to Ketetahi car park, starting at an elevation of 1,120m and finishing at 760m, with 1,150m of ascent, 1,520m of descent, and a 1,868m peak.

The Tongariro Alpine Crossing information on the Department of Conservation website is clear and comprehensive.

We (me, HJ, HW) did the hike on a sunny day in February, 2024.

Mangatepopo Valley

This is the easy part of the crossing, a slowly rising trail up the previously glacier-filled Mangatepopo Valley. This section of the trail is sometimes recommended as an day walk on its own—5km from the carpark to Soda Springs and just 280m of elevation gain, with excellent views of Ngauruhoe, lava flows, and scoria fields.

Toilets are available at the car park, as well as a sign to take a selfie with.

On our way up to Soda Springs we stopped to take a look at Mangatepopo Hut, where I’d once spent a night on a school trip while doing the Northern Circuit track.

Tongariro Alpine Crossing Mangatepopo car park.
Starting off at the Mangatepopo car park.
HJ at the start, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Are you prepared.
Ruapehu
Mount Ruapehu.
Tongariro Alpine Crossing, Mangatepopo
Looking back down the track.
Mangatepopo Hut
We took a short detour to look at Mangatepopo Hut, where I’d spent a night back in the day.
Mangatepopo Hut, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Mangatepopo Hut, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Mangatepopo Hut
The common room and kitchen.
Mangatepopo Hut, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Bunk room.
Mangatepopo Valley, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Getting back on track.
Mangatepopo Valley, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Looking back down the track from further up, with the hut in view.
Mangatepopo Valley, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Views up to Ngauruhoe and the South Crater saddle.
Mangatepopo Valley, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Looking back down the valley again.
Lava flows
A boardwalk by a scoria field.
Ngauruhoe, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
A solidified lava flow on the foothills of Ngauruhoe.
HJ on the Mangatepopo Valley track, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Soda Springs fork, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Starting a detour to Soda Springs.

Soda Springs and Devil’s Staircase

Soda Springs is a small waterfall fed by a cold water spring, and is reached with a short detour off the main track.

After a look at the springs you’re on to the Devil’s Staircase, a fairly big climb that traverses a ridge on the way to South Crater.

The Devil’s Staircase is the main climb on the hike, with 300m of elevation gain over 2km of track, starting at about 1,370m by Soda Springs and getting up to 1,670m by the entrance to South Crater.

On the way up you’ll have great views of Ngauruhoe and the Mangatepopo Valley. If it’s clear you may catch a view of Mount Taranaki, New Zealand’s other cone-shaped volcano, which is about 140km to the west of Tongariro.

Soda Springs, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Soda Springs, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Soda Springs.
Devil’s Staircase, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Looking over to the the Devil’s Staircase.
Devil’s Staircase, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Views down the Devil’s Staircase
Views back down the valley.
Devil’s Staircase, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Mt. Taranaki
The peak of Mount Taranaki, New Zealand’s other cone-shaped volcano.
Devil’s Staircase, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Devil’s Staircase, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Nearly at the top of the Devil’s Staircase section.
Mount Taranaki
Foreground: pyroclastic flow. Background: Mt. Taranaki.
Devil’s Staircase, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Ngauruhoe, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
In front of Ngauruhoe, just before arriving at South Crater.
Ngauruhoe, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Ngauruhoe, New Zealand
By Ngauruhoe.

South Crater

At the top of the Devil’s Staircase the trail enters South Crater. There’s not much to write about here—it’s just a short, flat walk across the floor of the crater. There’s a pretty good solidified lava flow to look at, and you’ll hike by rocks and boulders ejected from Ngauruhoe during its previous eruptions.

South Crater, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
The west side of South Crater, with the eastern rim and Red Crater beyond.
The track into South Crater, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
The track into South Crater.
Ngauruhoe, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Looking back to Ngauruhoe.
South Crater, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
The track into South Crater, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
The ridge to the north of the crater (seen in the background of this photo) rises to the summit of Mount Tongariro.
South Crater, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
South Crater eastern rim, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Climbing up on to the eastern rim of South Crater.
South Crater, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Tongariro South Crater
South Crater view.
Up the ridge to Red Crater.
Continuing up the ridge to Red Crater.

Red Crater

After a quick climb up on to the eastern rim of South Crater, the track follows a narrow ridge up to the western rim of Red Crater, peaking at the Emerald Lakes view point.

This is the last extended ascent of the hike, gaining about 220m of elevation over about 1km of trail.

This section is dangerous on a day with strong winds—a gust could blow you off the ridge and down into a crater.

When you reach the Emerald Lakes view point you’re at the highest point of the hike, 1,886m above sea level.

Red Crater, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
On the Red Crater rim, not far from the Emerald Lakes view point.
Red Crater, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Red Crater, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Looking down into Red Crater.
Red Crater, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
The vent in Red Crater.
Red Crater, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Ngaruhoe, seen from Red Crater

Tongariro summit track

Just before the Emerald Lakes view point is the turn off for the Tongariro summit track. As mentioned before, the peaks of the mountains are considered sacred and climbing them is officially discouraged. Thought I might take a quick look, though.

Views of Tongariro South Crater.
Views of South Crater and Ngauruhoe from the Tongariro summit track.
Views from the lower part of the Tongariro summit track
Views south to the Rangipo Desert.
Blue Lake
Views over to Blue Lake, with Lake Taupo seen in the distance.
Central Crater and Blue Lake
Blue Lake, Central Crater, and the Emerald Lakes view point.
Tongariro Summit Track
🤷‍♂️🆗 I shall not pass.

Emerald Lakes

From the Emerald Lakes view point you get super views eastwards—the Emerald Lakes in the foreground, the larger Blue Lake just beyond, and Lake Taupo all the way in the back.

The lakes here are craters that filled with water, with the bright colours of the Emerald Lakes coming from dissolved minerals.

HJ at the Emerald Lakes Lookout
At the Emerald Lakes view point, 1,868m.
Emerald Lakes and Blue Lake, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Emerald Lakes and Blue Lake.
Emerald Lakes, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Scree slope descent
The descent on scree from the view point to the lakes is slippery but not too bad.
Emerald Lakes, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Emerald Lakes, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
On the other side of the ridge is Red Crater.

With the detour to the hut, and me messing around on the Tongariro summit track, and then soles peeling off hiking boots, etc., etc., we got to Emerald Lakes just a couple of hours before the first bus was due to depart from Ketetahi carpark. Instead of running down – and maybe missing the bus anyway – we ate lunch and messed about for a bit longer by the springs, and from that you get this little timelapse which is unfortunately focused on the grass instead of the lake.

Emerald Lakes, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Emerald Lakes, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Emerald Lakes, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Towards Oturere and Waihohonu.
The Northern Circuit track heads in this direction towards Oturere and Waihohonu.
Mr H at the Emerald Lakes.

Central Crater and Blue Lake

A short walk across Central Crater gets you to Blue Lake.

Central Crater, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Crossing Central Crater, with Red Crater and Ngauruhoe seen in the back.
Central Crater, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Central Crater, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
A lava flow from Red Crater covers part of Central Crater.
Blue Lake, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Blue Lake.
Blue Lake, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Hiking by Blue Lake.
Blue Lake, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Blue Lake, Tongariro Alpine Crossing

Ketetahi Track

Past Blue Lake the trail turns into a bit of a slog. There’s still 9km to go – nearly half the total distance of the hike – and it’s all downhill, going from an elevation of 1,731m at Blue Lake down to 760m at the Ketetahi car park.

It’s not that bad, though. The views of Lakes Rotoaira and Taupo are great, and the signage at the old Ketetahi Shelter tells an interesting story about the partial destruction of the Ketetahi Hut during the 2012 eruption from Te Māri Crater.

Ketetahi Track, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Ketetahi Track, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Views down to Lake Rotoaira and over to Lake Taupo.
Ketetahi Track, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Ketetahi Track, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Views down to Lake Rotoaira.
Views down to Lake Rotoaira, with a bit of Lake Taupo way in the back.
Ketetahi Track, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
The track winds across the upper slopes of the mountain.
Ketetahi Track, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Ketetahi Hot Springs, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Ketetahi Hot Springs area.
Ketetahi Track, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
A lava flow from the Te Māri crater covers a section of hills above the Okahukura Bush.
Okahukura Bush, Tongariro Alpine Crossing
The hike finishes with a walk out through the Okahukura Bush, ending at the Ketetahi car park.

How to do it yourself

Brief

  1. Give yourself a chance to wait for a good weather day
  2. Use a shuttle service for transport

01. Give yourself a chance to wait for a good weather day

The weather on the mountain is extremely changeable, and it’s often not suitable for hiking. (See here for forecasts)

If you’ve only got one day on which you can do the hike, you might be lucky and get a good weather day.

Your chances get better if you’re able to stay in the area for a few days and have a flexible itinerary.

And there are plenty of other things to do around Tongariro besides the crossing. For example, the Tama Lakes track is another extremely scenic walk, and works well as an alternative if the weather isn’t suitable for the Tongariro Alpine Crossing.

02. Use a shuttle service for transport

A shuttle service will drop you off at the Mangatepopo car park and pick you up on the other side at Ketetahi.

You can also ask them for advice on weather and which day might be the best one for your hike.

Use a shuttle service saves a lot of hassle—no worries about time limits at the car parks or having to drive while tired after a big hike, and you can sleep and/or snack on the bus, too. We had been staying in Ohakune and booked with Dempsey Buses, who offered a 7am departure from Ohakune.

Shuttle service tip #1: go for an early departure so you can get on the trail as early as possible.

Shuttle service tip #2: you won’t be able to leave anything on the shuttle and you should pack in enough water for the hike as well as the ride home—there aren’t any stops at shops.

Shuttle service tip #3: if you’re not sure which shuttle service to use, the local isite might be able to offer a recommendation. That’s how we found out about Dempsey Buses.

Links, etc.