Tongariro Northern Circuit hiking guide: route map, stages & where to stay

The Tongariro Northern Circuit is one of New Zealand's Great Walks. It is a loop of about 44 km through Tongariro National Park in the centre of the North Island, around the volcanic cone of Ngāuruhoe and over the shoulder of Tongariro. You cross the steaming Red Crater (1,886 m), pass the Emerald Lakes, walk through the lava flows of the Oturere Valley and come back past the Tama Lakes and Taranaki Falls. You sleep in three Department of Conservation (DOC) huts, Mangatepopo, Oturere and Waihohonu, or at the campsites beside them. All of them must be booked.

The route

This guide walks the loop clockwise from Whakapapa Village, the way the OpenStreetMap route runs, and splits it into 4 stages of about 11.1 km. DOC says you can walk it in either direction.

1. Whakapapa Village – Mangatepopo Hut (9.4 km, 3–5 hours): the Mangatepopo Track, also called the Ditch Track, crosses open tussock country below Ngāuruhoe. It is rougher than the rest of the circuit, and DOC is rebuilding its fire-damaged structures. 2. Mangatepopo Hut – Oturere Hut (12 km, about 5 hours): up the valley on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, with a 5-minute detour to Soda Springs, a steep climb to South Crater and up to Red Crater, then down the loose ridge to the Emerald Lakes and steeply into the Oturere Valley. 3. Oturere Hut – Waihohonu Hut (8.1 km, about 3 hours): over stream valleys and gravel fields around the foot of Ngāuruhoe, then through beech forest to Waihohonu. 4. Waihohonu Hut – Whakapapa Village (15.4 km, about 5 hours): up to the windy Tama Saddle between Ruapehu and Ngāuruhoe, then down past Taranaki Falls to the village.

Highlights

• Red Crater and the Emerald Lakes: the highest point of the walk, with steam vents, red scoria and the bright green lakes below
• Oturere Valley: a strange landscape of jagged lava forms
• Historic Waihohonu Hut: built in 1903–04, the oldest hut in the park, 20 minutes return from Waihohonu Hut; Ohinepango Springs is 1 hour return
• Tama Lakes: two explosion craters near Tama Saddle; the lower lake is 20 minutes return from the junction, the upper lake 1.5 hours return
• Taranaki Falls: a waterfall over an old lava flow, an hour from the village

2026/27 season: what is open

The Great Walks season runs from 23 October 2026 to 30 April 2027. After two fires in late 2025 burned parts of the park, the Mangatepopo Track (stage 1) was closed. On 4 September 2026 DOC announced that it is on course to reopen in mid-December 2026, so the full loop can be walked this summer. The new 28-bed Oturere Hut and its campsite were delayed by weather and open for bookings from 18 December 2026. Before those dates the walk starts at the Mangatepopo Road end, 1.7 km (25 minutes) below Mangatepopo Hut, and there is no night at Oturere: Mangatepopo to Waihohonu is about 20 km with a big climb. Check the DOC track page and your booking before you go. The circuit did not run as a Great Walk in 2025–26 while the old Oturere Hut was replaced.

When to go

Go in the Great Walks season. Then the huts have gas cookers, heating and a resident DOC ranger, and the track is graded intermediate. Book early for weekends and summer holidays. The weather changes fast: cold wind, rain and even snow can arrive on a summer day. From May to October the circuit is not a Great Walk. There is snow, ice and avalanche risk, and no rangers, gas cookers or emergency radios. Only go then with alpine skills and equipment.

How many days?

Most walkers take 4 days and 3 nights, as in this guide, or 3 days and 2 nights with one long day of 20–24 km. Very fit walkers can do it in 2 days, but each day is at least 8 hours.

Booking, fees and rules

Book huts and campsites online with DOC. In 2026/27 a hut night costs $66 for international adults and $44 for New Zealanders ($33 and $22 for children); campsites are $28 and $19. From 1 May to 22 October huts cost $25. No spaces are kept for walkers without a booking. With a hut or campsite booking you do not need a separate Tongariro Alpine Crossing booking. Camping is not allowed within 500 m of the track except at the hut campsites. No dogs; drones need a permit. Ngāti Tūwharetoa ask walkers not to climb Ngāuruhoe or Tongariro, or touch the lakes. A 10-year rāhui covers the burnt area: stay on the track.

Getting there and away

Whakapapa Village is on SH48, about 40 minutes by car from Tūrangi and 15 km from National Park Village, where InterCity buses and the Northern Explorer train stop. Shuttles run from National Park Village to Whakapapa and to the Mangatepopo Road end. Overnight parking in Whakapapa Village needs a free permit from the Tongariro National Park Visitor Centre. Parking at Mangatepopo is limited to 4 hours in summer, so take a shuttle if you start there.

Money and phone signal

Prices are in New Zealand dollars. There are no shops on the track: buy food in Taupō, Tūrangi or Taumarunui, as Whakapapa has only a small store at the holiday park. Mobile coverage is fairly good on parts of the track, but there are gaps, and little or none at Waihohonu Hut. Carry a personal locator beacon (PLB) and register it.

What to pack

You carry all your food, plus spare in case the weather holds you up. Bring cooking utensils, a pot, a mug and a lighter; in season the huts have gas cookers, but campers need their own stove. Pack a 3–4 season sleeping bag (bunkrooms are not heated), earplugs, a pack liner, full waterproofs, warm layers, hat, gloves, sun protection, boots with good grip, a first aid kit, a head torch and a rubbish bag. Hut water is untreated: boil it or treat it.

Difficulty and safety

The track is graded intermediate in summer, but most of it is open, exposed and rough. The hardest parts are the loose rock on Red Crater and the steep, slippery 400 m descent from the Emerald Lakes to the Oturere Valley. DOC does not recommend it for children under 10. The circuit crosses an active volcanic area. In October 2026 Tongariro and Ngāuruhoe are at Volcanic Alert Level 0 and Ruapehu at Level 1, but eruptions can happen without warning, and DOC closes sections if the alert level rises. Check GeoNet, the NIWA forecast and DOC alerts, and turn back if cloud and wind close in on Red Crater.

History

Tongariro was New Zealand's first national park. It was created after the paramount chief of Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Te Heuheu Tūkino IV, gifted the sacred peaks in 1887. Ngāuruhoe sent the black lava flows you cross in the Mangatepopo Valley in 1949 and 1954, and Te Maari, on the north side of Tongariro, last erupted in 2012. The first hut in the park was built at Waihohonu in 1903–04.