Hut Catch · Great Walk guide
Walking the Tongariro Northern Circuit
Three or four days around Mount Ngauruhoe through the volcanic heart of Tongariro National Park: over Red Crater, past the Emerald Lakes, and out through lava fields and beech forest. What each section is like, where you sleep, how to get there, and how to get a bunk when it's booked out.
The Emerald Lakes and Red Crater, with Ngauruhoe behind. Photo: Jeffrey Pang, CC BY 2.0
The Tongariro Northern Circuit loops around Mount Ngauruhoe through the volcanic heart of Tongariro National Park. It shares its biggest day with the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, up the Mangatepopo valley, across South Crater, over the rim of Red Crater and down past the Emerald Lakes, then leaves the crowds behind for the lava fields of the Oturere valley, the beech forest around Waihohonu and the Tama Lakes on the way back to Whakapapa Village.
Most walkers take three or four days, staying at Mangatepopo, Oturere and Waihohonu huts. The huts and campsites have to be booked all year round, and bookings for the Great Walks season, 23 October to 30 April, are open.
The 2026/27 season is a shorter walk than usual. The section between Whakapapa Village and Mangatepopo Hut is closed after the 2025 Tongariro fire, so the track starts at the Mangatepopo car park and ends at Whakapapa Village: 35.5km instead of 44.9km. Oturere Hut is being replaced in time for the season.
Map
The Tongariro Northern Circuit with its huts and campsites. Zoom in with the + and − buttons.
Section by section
Clockwise from the Mangatepopo car park, the way DOC describes it. Most people spend the first night at Mangatepopo Hut and take a day each to Oturere and Waihohonu; with an early start you can walk straight through to Oturere Hut on the first day.
Section 1Mangatepopo car park to Mangatepopo Hut
A short walk on a well-formed track up the valley to Mangatepopo Hut, which makes the first night an easy one if your shuttle drops you off in the afternoon. There's time for the Soda Springs walk, or just the view of Ngauruhoe from the hut.
Mount Tongariro and Ngauruhoe from near the Mangatepopo car park. Photo: Javier Sánchez Portero, CC BY-SA 3.0 Section 2Mangatepopo Hut to Emerald Lakes
The track follows the Mangatepopo Stream over old lava flows from Ngauruhoe, the youngest from 1949 and 1954, past a short detour to Soda Springs, then climbs steeply to the Mangatepopo Saddle. It crosses the flat floor of South Crater and climbs again, on loose rock, to the rim of Red Crater, the highest point of the walk, before dropping to the Emerald Lakes, coloured by minerals washed down from the crater. You share this stretch with the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, so expect company.
Red Crater in cloud. Photo: Michal Klajban, CC BY-SA 4.0 Section 3Emerald Lakes to Oturere Hut
The circuit leaves the crossing at the lowest Emerald Lake and drops into the Oturere valley, with views out to the Kaimanawa Range and the Rangipo Desert. The first 400m is the trickiest part of the whole walk: steep, with loose sharp rock over hard lava, and most slippery when it's dry. Lower down, the track winds between jagged lava forms to Oturere Hut on the eastern edge of the flows.
Looking down into the Oturere valley from below the Emerald Lakes. Photo: Michal Klajban, CC BY-SA 4.0 Section 4Oturere Hut to Waihohonu Hut
An easier half day over stream valleys and open gravel fields where little grows, around the foothills of Ngauruhoe, then through a beech-filled valley and over a ridge to Waihohonu Hut. From the hut, Ohinepango Springs is an hour return, and the historic Waihohonu Hut, built in 1903-04 and the first hut in the park, is 20 minutes return.
The historic Waihohonu Hut, built in 1903-04. Photo: Sarang, Public domain Section 5Waihohonu Hut to Whakapapa Village
The track follows the Waihohonu Stream up to Tama Saddle, between Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe and often windy. The side trip to the Tama Lakes, two water-filled explosion craters, is worth it: the lower lake is 10 minutes from the junction, the upper lake 1.5 hours return up a steep ridge. From the junction it's about two hours to Whakapapa Village, with Taranaki Falls on the way: take the lower track down the steps to the foot of the falls, then follow the Wairere Stream through beech forest to the village.
Lower Tama Lake, with Mount Ruapehu behind. Photo: Michal Klajban, CC BY-SA 4.0
Watch the track
A walk-through of the Tongariro Northern Circuit's alpine section, its hazards and the decisions you'll make on the way, from the NZ Mountain Safety Council.
Huts and campsites
Mangatepopo, Oturere and Waihohonu huts have bunks with mattresses, heating, toilets, gas cooking, solar lighting and cold running water, and in the Great Walks season a warden stays at each one. Mangatepopo sleeps 20, Oturere 26 and Waihohonu 28. There are no showers, cooking utensils or food, and tap water needs boiling.
Each hut has a campsite beside it, which needs booking just like the hut. Outside the season there's no warden and no gas, but a booking is still required.
Getting there
The walk starts at the Mangatepopo car park, off State Highway 47, and ends at Whakapapa Village on State Highway 48. Parking at Mangatepopo is limited to four hours in the Great Walks season, so park in Whakapapa Village, where overnight parking needs a free permit from the Tongariro National Park Visitor Centre, and take a shuttle to the start, or book one from a nearby town. Buses and trains stop at Waimarino (National Park Village), 15km from Whakapapa.
Mordor and Mount Doom
If the cone of Ngauruhoe looks familiar, it's because it played Mount Doom in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films. The volcano itself is in the wide shots; the fire, the lava and the Eye of Sauron were added in a computer, so don't expect to see the Eye from the track. The circuit walks right around it, and the best views are from Mangatepopo Hut, the climb to South Crater and the gravel fields between Oturere and Waihohonu.
The Mordor scenes with Frodo and Sam were filmed on the slopes of Ruapehu next door, around the Whakapapa ski field and Iwikau Village above the village where the walk ends, and on the Tukino side of the mountain, which stood in for the plains of Gorgoroth and the Emyn Muil. Tawhai Falls, a 20-minute walk off State Highway 48 just below Whakapapa Village, was Gollum's pool.
One thing the films got wrong: nobody should climb Mount Doom. The summit of Ngauruhoe is tapu to Ngāti Tūwharetoa, and DOC asks walkers to stay on the track.
Before you go
The circuit crosses an active volcanic area. Eruptions are unlikely but can happen at any time, so check the volcanic alert level before you go and don't linger near the vents. Most of the track is open and exposed, and the weather can go from warm and sunny to cold, wet and windy in an hour, with severe wind chill. Carry warm layers, a map and a personal locator beacon.
Climbing Ngauruhoe or Tongariro is disrespectful to Ngāti Tūwharetoa, who gifted the peaks to the nation, and DOC asks walkers not to. DOC doesn't recommend the track for children under 10. From May to October there's snow, ice and avalanche terrain, and the track is only for people with alpine skills.
Getting a booking
Bookings for the Great Walks season open months ahead on DOC's website, and popular dates on the Tongariro Northern Circuit sell out fast. But plans change all season: people cancel, and their bunks go back on sale for whoever happens to be looking at the time.
Hut Catch checks DOC every few minutes, day and night, and emails you as soon as there's room for your whole group on your dates.
Setting up an alert for the Tongariro Northern Circuit
Mangatepopo Hut has only 20 bunks, so it's usually the first to fill. If you're happy to start early and walk straight through to Oturere Hut, leave Mangatepopo out of your alert and you'll have one fewer night to find. Add the campsites if you're carrying a tent.
Questions
Is the Tongariro Northern Circuit open for the 2026/27 season?
Yes. It runs as a Great Walk from 23 October 2026 to 30 April 2027, with Oturere Hut being replaced in time for the season. The section between Whakapapa Village and Mangatepopo Hut is closed after the 2025 fire, so the walk starts at the Mangatepopo car park and is 35.5km instead of the usual 44.9km.
Can I camp on the Tongariro Northern Circuit?
Yes, at the campsites beside Mangatepopo, Oturere and Waihohonu huts. They have to be booked all year round, and Hut Catch can watch them too.
Is this where Mount Doom was filmed?
Yes. Mount Ngauruhoe, which the circuit loops around, was Mount Doom in the Lord of the Rings films, with the fire and the Eye of Sauron added digitally. The Mordor scenes were shot on the neighbouring slopes of Ruapehu, near Whakapapa Village where the walk ends. Climbing Ngauruhoe is disrespectful to Ngāti Tūwharetoa, so admire it from the track.
How is the Northern Circuit different from the Tongariro Alpine Crossing?
The crossing is a one-day walk from Mangatepopo to Ketetahi over Red Crater. The circuit shares that climb and the Emerald Lakes, then turns into the Oturere valley and loops around Ngauruhoe over three or four days, with far fewer people once you leave the crossing.
Track details are from the Department of Conservation, checked October 2026. Conditions, fees and booking dates change, so check DOC's Tongariro Northern Circuit page before you go. Hut Catch isn't part of DOC.
Want a bunk on the Tongariro Northern Circuit?
Tell us your dates and huts. We'll watch DOC around the clock and email you the moment there's room for your group.
Set up a Tongariro Northern Circuit alert