Mount Ngauruhoe

Mount Ngauruhoe is the volcano a child would draw: an almost perfectly symmetrical cone of dark scoria and ash, rising to 2,291 metres in the heart of New Zealand's North Island. Geologically it is a young vent on the flank of the larger Tongariro massif, first active only about 2,500 years ago and last erupted in 1977. The steep sides are bare and loose, in places streaked red and black, and in winter snow lies in long lines down the slope, emphasising how regular the cone is.

Its outline gives the whole Central Plateau its character. Ngauruhoe stands between Tongariro to the north and the broad snowy bulk of Ruapehu to the south, and from many points around the plateau the three volcanoes line up like a stage set. That stage was used: the cone stood in for Mount Doom in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films. The most rewarding close view is from the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, a 19.4 km day walk that climbs from the Mangatepopo valley over old lava flows from Ngauruhoe — the youngest erupted in 1949 and 1954 — and passes right under the cone on the way to Red Crater and the vivid Emerald Lakes.

For Ngāti Tūwharetoa, the iwi of the area, the mountain is tapu, sacred. Tradition holds that it was named by their ancestor Ngātoro-i-rangi, who in tradition summoned volcanic fire to the region, and one account connects the name with a companion who died of the cold. In 1887 the paramount chief Te Heuheu Tūkino IV gave the peaks of Tongariro, Ngauruhoe and part of Ruapehu to the Crown on condition they be protected, creating New Zealand's first national park. Tongariro National Park became a World Heritage site in 1990 for its volcanic landscape, and in 1993 it was among the first places listed as a cultural landscape for its spiritual meaning. Out of respect, the Department of Conservation asks walkers not to climb to the summit — the mountain is meant to be looked at.

Getting there

Ngauruhoe lies in Tongariro National Park, about 25 km south of Lake Taupō; the town of Taupō is about 65 km away in a straight line, and Taupō Airport (TUO) about 61 km. The usual bases are Whakapapa Village, National Park village, Tūrangi and Ohakune. The Tongariro Alpine Crossing runs one-way from the Mangatepopo car park to the Ketetahi car park, so most walkers use the shuttles that run from Whakapapa, National Park, Tūrangi, Taupō and other nearby towns; the walk takes seven to eight hours and is an alpine route where weather changes fast.