New Zealand is home to nine Great Walks. These are man-made tracks that offer great scenery and a full wilderness experience but are also easily accessible from major towns. Tongariro is one of them: The Tongariro Northern Circuit.
The Northern Circuit runs horizontally along the northern side of Mount Ruapehu and fully surrounds Mount Ngauruhoe on a 50 km journey altogether. It is accessible from four points but usually started from the Whakapapa Village in the southwest of Ngauruhoe. The circuit offers a variety of volcanic landforms, crater lakes and waterfalls as well as forests, alpine plateaus and areas that are similar to a desert.
Walking it clockwise, the circuit leads first to the Mangatepopo Hut for about 9 km passing several streams such as the Taranaki and Makahikatoea. In front emerges volcanic terrain from the left (Pukeonake, 1225 m) and right (Pukekaikiore, 1692 m) and the path takes a turn towards Mount Ngauruhoe. From here, the track crosses Soda Springs, South Crater, and the Mount Tongariro Summit Route before reaching Emerald Lakes and Red Crater at an altitude of 1868 m. Next, a downhill march of 5 km parallel along the Oturere Stream gives views of the Rangipo Desert. Leaving the Oturere Hut, the route meanders southwards to the Waihohonu crossing, a junction of four paths that lead to either the eastern exit, Mount Ruapehu in the south or point of departure Whakapapa in the west. To complete the round trip, visitors must return on a 15km-long path between Tongariro's two biggest mountain sites, Mount Ngauruhoe and Mount Ruapehu. Side tracks lead to views of Tama Lakes, before the Taranaki Falls await at the end of the circuit.