Tongariro National Park, located in the central North Island of New Zealand, is the oldest national park in the country and the sixth national park created worldwide. It has been acknowledged by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site because it has both cultural and natural importance.

The active volcanic mountains Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe, and Tongariro are situated in the middle of the park. Three ski fields are located on the slopes of Mount Ruapehu. The park is also a popular place for outdoor activities such as hiking, fishing, and hunting. Tongariro National Park is home to the famous Tongariro Alpine Crossing, which is considered one of the best one-day hikes in the world.

The natural environment of the park includes temperate rainforests, beech forests, tussock shrublands, and alpine ecosystems. The park is home to many native and unique birds and plants.

The park includes several Māori religious sites. Many of the park's peaks, such as Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu, are considered sacred (tapu).

Several small towns are located near the park's edge, including Ohakune, Waiouru, Horopito, Pokaka, Erua, Waimarino (also known as National Park Village), and Tūrangi.

Māori relationship to the mountains

In Māori stories, the volcanoes in Tongariro National Park are given human qualities. Different versions of the story tell that Tongariro and Taranaki both loved Ruapehu or Pihanga and fought a big battle. Taranaki lost and ran west toward the coast, creating the Whanganui River as it moved. The Tama Lakes (Māori: Ngā puna a Tama), two lakes between Mount Ruapehu and Mount Ngauruhoe, are said to show the space left when Taranaki left.

In 2017, the Department of Conservation told visitors not to climb the mountain peaks in Tongariro National Park because they are sacred to local Māori tribes. Some Māori believe the mountains are their ancestors, with the peaks representing the heads of these ancestors, and they think it is wrong to stand on the heads of ancestors. The notice also asked tour companies to remove any mentions of climbing peaks or visiting sacred lakes, and to stop calling Mount Ngauruhoe "Mount Doom." After this notice, fewer people climbed the mountains in the park.

The park is located in the tribal areas (rohe) of two main Māori groups: Ngāti Tūwharetoa and Ngāti Rangi. The northern and western parts of the park, including the area near the top of Ruapehu, belong to Ngāti Tūwharetoa. Ngāti Rangi’s area covers the southern and south-western side of Ruapehu. Other Māori groups with traditional connections to the park include Ngāti Hāua and Te Korowai o Wainuiārua from the Whanganui River region.

Between 2004 and 2013, the Waitangi Tribunal studied claims under the Treaty of Waitangi related to Tongariro National Park. In July 2018, the government met with some Māori groups and agreed to delay negotiations until all groups with interests in the park had settled their claims. The cultural redress process aims to protect spiritually important sites, recognize the traditional relationships of Māori with the environment, and allow claimants to have more influence in managing the areas involved.

History

According to Māori oral history, Ngāti Tūwharetoa ancestor Ngātoro-i-rangi climbed the volcanoes 30 generations ago. He named Tongariro and other landscape features and claimed the area for his descendants.

Around 1750, Te Rangihiroa, son of local chief Pakaurangi, explored the area around the volcanoes in the park. The Māori name for Blue Lake, near the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, is Te Wai-whakaata-o-te-Rangihiroa, which means "Rangihiroa's mirror." Te Rangihiroa's sister was Te Maari, whose name was given to the Te Maari craters on Tongariro.

John Bidwill is believed to have been the first European to climb Mount Ngauruhoe in March 1839. His Māori guides refused to take him to the summit because it was sacred or tapu, so Bidwill climbed alone. He faced anger when he returned to the village where he had started. Bidwill may also have climbed Mount Tongariro. The chief Mananui Te Heu Heu Tūkino II then placed a tapu on the area. Dieffenbach, Governor George Grey, and Hochstetter were denied permission to climb the volcanoes. The artist George French Angas was forbidden from sketching the mountains.

Mananui and many of his family died in a landslide in 1846. His body and that of his wife were placed in a pataka (a storehouse raised on poles) at Pukawa and later moved to a burial cave on Mount Tongariro. In 1910, Mananui's remains were reinterred in a tomb at Waihī.

Henry Dyson climbed Ngauruhoe in March 1851, defying Mananui's tapu but with the support of Te Herekiekie of Tokaanu. Pierce Connelly, an artist, climbed Ngauruhoe in 1877, and William Collie, a photographer, climbed Ngauruhoe in 1878. Both were stripped of their belongings for breaking the tapu on the mountain. Donald Manson, a watch salesman from the United States, climbed Ngauruhoe in 1881 after paying Māori £10 for permission to do so.

Because the mountain summits were of great significance to local Māori and to prevent the sale of the mountains to European settlers, the Ngāti Tūwharetoa iwi had the mountains surveyed in the Native Land Court in 1886. They then set aside the area as a reserve in the names of certain chiefs. One of these chiefs was Te Heuheu Tūkino IV (Horonuku), son of Mananui Te Heuheu Tūkino II and the most significant chief of the Ngāti Tūwharetoa iwi. The peaks of Mount Tongariro, Mount Ngauruhoe, and parts of Mount Ruapehu were conveyed to the Crown on 23 September 1887, on the condition that a protected area was established there.

Opposition to Te Heuheu's gift came from Te Moanapapaku Te Huiatahi. Te Huiatahi petitioned Parliament on behalf of 180 people, stating that most of Tongariro belonged to him, not Te Heuheu. He claimed he owned the land by ancestry and occupation and said his hapū had 200 whare (dwellings) on the land in question. Te Huiatahi's claim was denied.

The 26.4 km (10.2 sq mi) area given by Te Heu Heu was considered too small to establish a national park, so further areas were acquired. When the New Zealand Parliament passed the Tongariro National Park Act in October 1894, the park covered about 252.13 km (97.35 sq mi). It took until 1907 for the government to acquire the land.

In 1908, a scientific party consisting of botanist Leonard Cockayne, forester and surveyor Edward Phillips Turner, and geologist Robert Speight spent several months exploring and surveying the park. They presented a report to Parliament detailing the flora, fauna, and geology of the region and recommended that the park's boundaries be expanded. Cockayne noted the importance of protecting the environment from development and introduced pests.

The park area was extended to 586.8 km (226.6 sq mi) when the Act was renewed in 1922. Further extensions, especially Pihanga Scenic Reserve in 1975, enlarged the park to its current size of 795.96 km² (307.32 sq mi). Tongariro National Park is managed under the National Parks Act 1980. It has been under the control of the New Zealand Department of Conservation since the department was created in 1987.

A sculpture and plaque at the visitor centre in Whakapapa Village commemorate Te Heuheu's gift to New Zealand.

The first development in Tongariro National Park was the construction of tourist huts at the beginning of the 20th century. However, it was not until the opening of the North Island Main Trunk railway line between Auckland and Wellington in 1908 and the building of roads in the 1920s that a significant number of people visited the park. This early tourist development explains the presence of a permanently inhabited village and fully developed ski area within a national park. Skiing on the mountains in the park became popular around 1914 when the Ruapehu Ski Club was established. The first ski hut was built on Mount Ruapehu in 1923 at an elevation of 1770 m, and a ski lift was constructed in 1938–1939

Geography

Tongariro National Park covers an area of 795.96 km (307.32 sq mi), including the Pihanga Scenic Reserve. It surrounds the group of three active volcanoes—Mount Ruapehu, Mount Ngauruhoe, and Mount Tongariro—in the center of the North Island. The northern edge of the park is just a few kilometers west-southwest of Lake Taupō. The Tongariro National Park Visitor Centre in Whakapapa Village is 338 km (210 mi) south of Auckland by road and 337 km (209 mi) north of Wellington.

Pihanga Scenic Reserve, though separated from the main park, is also part of the national park. It covers 51.29 km (19.80 sq mi), including Lake Rotopounamu, Mount Pihanga, and the Kakaramea-Tihia Massif.

Most of the park is in the Ruapehu District (Manawatū–Whanganui Region), while the northeast is in the Taupō District (Waikato Region or Hawke's Bay Region to the north).

Three towns are near the park: Tūrangi, Waimarino (formerly called National Park Village), and Ohakune. Other nearby towns include Waiouru and Raetihi. Two Māori settlements, Papakai and Otukou, are not part of the park but are located west of Lake Rotoaira between the Pihanga Scenic Reserve and the main park area. The only settlement within the park is Whakapapa Village, a tourism center where the Chateau Tongariro, accommodations, and the Tongariro National Park Visitor Centre are located. Temporary visitor housing is also available at Iwikau Village on the Whakapapa ski field and at the Tukino ski field.

Rangipo Desert (also called Te Onetapu) is an area of about 100 km (39 sq mi) east of Mount Ruapehu. Part of it is owned by the army, and the rest is in the park. The area receives 1,500–2,500 mm (59–98 in) of rainfall each year but looks like a desert because of its location on a volcanic plateau, poor soil, erosion, sparse plants, and strong winds. Freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall are common in winter. The part of State Highway 1 that runs through the Rangipo Desert is called the Desert Road.

Ketetahi hot springs is an area of 39 ha (96 acres) on the northern slope of Mount Tongariro. Though within the park, it was never part of Tongariro National Park. Hikers on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing used to pass near the hot springs, but the Māori owners, Ketetahi Springs Trust, closed the route because they opposed commercial guides using their land. In 2010, the Department of Conservation agreed to re-route the Tongariro Alpine Crossing to avoid crossing private land.

Like all of New Zealand, Tongariro National Park is in a temperate zone. Winds from the west gather moisture over the Tasman Sea. Except for Mount Taranaki, the volcanoes in the park are the first major landforms these winds meet in the central North Island. Rain falls on at least half the days of the year in the western and northern parts of the park. Rainfall differences between the east and west are smaller than in the Southern Alps because the three volcanoes are not part of a larger mountain range. Still, the Rangipo Desert on the eastern side receives about 2,000 mm (79 in) of rain annually. At Whakapapa Village (elevation 1,119 m), the average annual rainfall is about 2,200 mm (87 in). In Ohakune (elevation 610 m), it is about 1,250 mm (49 in), and at higher altitudes, such as Iwikau Village (elevation 1,770 m), it is about 4,900 mm (190 in). In winter, snow covers areas up to 1,500 m. Temperatures change greatly even within a day. At Whakapapa, freezing temperatures can occur year-round. The average temperature is 13 °C, with summer highs of 25 °C and winter lows of −10 °C. In some summers, snow covers the peaks of the three volcanoes. On Mount Ruapehu, snowfields are present every summer, and the summit has glaciers.

Many rivers begin in the park, including the Waikato, Whangaehu, and Whanganui. The Waikato River, sacred to Māori, starts on Mount Ruapehu. Other rivers that begin on Mount Ruapehu are the Wahianoa River, Whangaehu River, and Mangawhero River. To the west, the Whanganui River and its tributary, the Mangatepōpō Stream, start on Mount Tongariro and flow into Whanganui National Park. The Tāwhitikuri Stream also begins in the park and flows into the Mangatepōpō. Water from rivers and streams in the park is redirected into the Tongariro Power Scheme outside the park.

Geology

The park's volcanoes are located at the southern end of a 2,500 km-long (1,600 mi) volcanic range that extends to Samoa. This range forms where the Australian Plate meets the Pacific Plate. These volcanoes were created by movements inside the Earth. The Pacific Plate moves under the Australian Plate and melts because of the high heat in the layer beneath the Earth's crust, called the asthenosphere. The melted rock, called magma, is lighter than the surrounding rock and rises through weak areas in the Earth's crust, called faults, causing volcanic activity.

Volcanic activity has been forming the mountains in Tongariro National Park for more than two million years. Three volcanoes—Tongariro, Ngauruhoe, and Ruapehu—are still active. The two northernmost volcanoes in the park, Pihanga and the Kakaramea-Tihia Massif, last erupted more than 20,000 years ago. These volcanoes have produced large amounts of mudflows in history.

Mountain glaciers have also helped shape Mount Tongariro and Mount Ruapehu. Small glaciers are still found on the top of Mount Ruapehu, but there is clear evidence that glaciers covered the area more widely in the recent past. Glaciers were last present on Mount Tongariro during the Last Glacial Maximum.

Ecology

The park has many different areas with plants that have clear lines between them: forest, shrub, scrubland, tussock, fernland, sedgeland, rushland, moss field, gravel and stone fields, and ice fields. The types of plants in these areas are usually determined by how high above sea level they are. For example, mountain beech trees are usually found above 1000 meters, but other factors also influence plant life. Some forests grew back after the Taupō pumice eruption, which destroyed forests in the park’s northern and eastern areas. Tussock and shrubland areas often form after fires, except those above the tree line, which are shaped by climate and soil. Poor soil drainage caused bracken fernlands, sedgeland, and rushlands near Hauhungatahi. Erosion and climate conditions allow only small tussock and shrubs to grow in gravel and stone fields.

In the northern part of the park, south of State Highway 47, there is a podocarp-broadleaf rain forest. This area includes Hall’s totara (Podocarpus laetus), kahikatea (Dacrycarpus dacrydioides), rimu (Dacrydium cupressinum), northern rātā (Metrosideros robusta), kāmahi (Pterophylla racemosa), and kaikawaka (Libocedrus bidwillii). The forest understorey includes mountain cabbage trees (Cordyline indivisa), Coprosma tenuifolia, Cyathea smithii, black maire (Nestigis cunninghamii), māhoe (Melicytus ramiflorus), bush flax (Astelia fragrans), epiphytes, and grasses and ferns like crown fern (Blechnum discolor). At lower altitudes, there are areas with kānuka (Kunzea serotina), mānuka (Leptospermum scoparium), and bracken (Pteridium esculentum).

Beech forests of red (Nothofagus fusca), silver (Nothofagus menziesii), and mountain beech (Nothofagus solandri var. cliffortioides) grow on Tongariro, near the Waihohonu Huts, and to the south and west of Ruapehu. Red mistletoe (Peraxilla tetrapetala) grows on mountain beech trees in summer at Whakapapa Village.

To the northwest of the park and around the three mountains, between 1200 and 1500 meters, there are tussock and shrubland areas. The tussock includes red tussock grass (Chionochloa rubra), mountain inaka (Dracophyllum recurvum), wire rush (Empodisma minus), monoao (Dracophyllum subulatum), and tangle fern (Gleichenia alpina). West of Tongariro, exotic heather (Calluna vulgaris), with pink and mauve flowers, grows on well-drained areas where it competes with red tussock, mountain inaka, and other native plants.

Gravel and stone fields support mountain inaka, bristle tussock (Rhytidosperma setifolium), snow totara (Podocarpus nivalus), and snowberry (Gaultheria colensoi) at about 1100–1550 meters. Mountain inaka grows in crevices and on stable ground. Red tussock, mountain daisies (Celmisia sp.), and other tussocks grow, but the vegetation is often broken down by frost. Orchids, such as the leek-leaved orchid (Prasophyllum colensoi) and green-hooded orchid (Pterostylis patens), grow in sub-alpine and alpine areas. Mosses (including species of Rhacomitrium) are found near the Blue Lake on Tongariro, and moss fields occur on other moist gravel slopes. Above 1770 meters, parahebes, everlasting daisies (Helichrysum sp.), and mountain carrot (Anisotome aromatica) grow up to about 2000 meters. Above this, only crustose lichens grow on stable rocks.

The park is home to more than 56 bird species, including rare endemic species like the North Island brown kiwi, kākā, blue duck, North Island fernbird, double-banded plover, and New Zealand falcon/kārearea. Other common birds include tūī, New Zealand bellbird, morepork/ruru, grey warbler/riroriro, fantail, whitehead/pōpokotea, and silvereye. The park also has the only two native mammals in New Zealand: the short-tailed and long-tailed bat. Insects like moths and wētā are also found in the park. Introduced animals, such as black rats, stoats, cats, rabbits, hare, possums, and red deer, are also present in the park and throughout New Zealand.

Conservation

In the early 1900s, park managers, including John Cullen, brought calluna heather to the park to help with grouse hunting. Grouse were added to the park in 1924, but they disappeared quickly. The heather grew well, but by the 1920s, people began to criticize its introduction because it harmed the park’s natural environment and native plants. In 1996, the heather beetle Lochmaea suturalis was brought to control the heather, but at first, it did not work well. Between 1996 and 2018, the beetles only damaged 5,000 hectares of heather. However, a 2021 study showed the beetles were spreading and killing the heather. Since 2018, the beetles have damaged more than 35,000 hectares of heather, reducing its cover by up to 99% in some areas. This allowed native plants to grow again. The New Zealand Defence Force no longer needs to spray herbicides on parts of its training ground near the park. A 2024 study found that heather still covers one-third of the park’s area. Heather has caused native ferns, sedges, and rushes to disappear and changed the growth of red tussock. An underground fungus that helps red tussock also suffered from the spread of heather.

Pine trees were brought to New Zealand in the 1930s for farming and to prevent soil erosion. However, wilding pines—trees that grow from seeds carried by the wind—became a problem nationwide. Since the 1960s, volunteers and the government have worked to remove wilding pines on Mount Ruapehu because they harm native plants, use too much water, and damage the environment. The National Wilding Conifer Control Programme, started in 2016, helped coordinate efforts to control pines. By 2023, the program had stopped the spread of wilding pines in the Tongariro area, including the national park, and removed most sources of pine seeds.

Wild horses, descendants of animals brought to New Zealand in the 1800s, lived in the park and nearby areas until the mid-1900s. After their numbers dropped due to hunting and habitat changes, the horses, now called Kaimanawa horses, were protected by the government in 1981. Today, the Department of Conservation manages their population to prevent them from returning to Tongariro National Park.

Red deer were released in Tongariro National Park in the late 1800s, and sika deer were introduced to the Kaimanawas in 1905. These deer later spread to the park. By the 1940s, deer were seen as a threat to plants, and the government began reducing their numbers through hunting. In 1962, deer were spotted near the Chateau, showing their population was larger than expected. Private hunters are allowed to shoot deer in the park to keep their numbers under control.

The Department of Conservation (DoC) works to control feral goats in Tongariro National Park and the nearby Tongariro Forest. In 2024, a helicopter with thermal imaging technology searched 16,000 hectares of the park for goats but found none. DoC says regular monitoring and early action are better than trying to remove a large goat population later.

Pigs live in small numbers in the Rotopounamu-Mount Pihanga area and on the northern slopes of Mount Tongariro. Pigs harm plants by eating seedlings, berries, and roots, which can increase erosion and send sediment into rivers. They also eat the eggs of ground-dwelling birds like kiwi. The DoC hunts pigs to keep their numbers low, and private hunting is allowed.

The Tongariro Natural History Society, also known as Project Tongariro, was formed in 1984 by volunteers as a memorial to park staff who died in a 1982 helicopter accident. Since the 1980s, the group has worked on projects in the park, such as restoring Lake Rotopounamu, fixing areas used in the Lord of the Rings films, surveying blue duck habitats, and repairing the Hapuawhenua Viaduct.

Between July 2022 and March 2023, 9% of international visitors to New Zealand visited Tongariro National Park. Over-tourism is a problem, especially on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, where visitors increased from 10,000 in 1990 to 125,000 in 2015. Managing more visitors is difficult because of traffic, waste, and toilet facilities. The environment also suffers, and park staff handle more rescue calls. In 2023, the DoC introduced a booking system for the Tongariro Alpine Crossing to help manage visitor numbers.

On 8 November 2025, a fire started near State Highway 47, east of Waimarino, when a vehicle lost a wheel. Sparks from the vehicle’s undercarriage ignited dry vegetation. The fire quickly spread, and hikers were evacuated from the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. Whakapapa Village was also evacuated on 9 November. By 9 November, the fire covered about 2,500 hectares. By 10 November, it had grown to 2,800 hectares. Rain and light winds helped control the fire. The burned area included scrub and forest recovering from major fires in 1918 and 1947. Nick Singers, an ecologist with Project Tongariro, said dead heather made the fire more intense. After the fire, ecological threats include the return of weeds like heather, broom, gorse, and wilding pines.

Activities

The main recreational activities in the park are hiking and climbing during the summer months, and skiing and snowboarding during the winter months.

Many roads around Tongariro National Park follow the park's edges and help people get inside. In the west, State Highway 4 passes through Waimarino (National Park Village), and in the east, State Highway 1 runs next to the Tongariro River. State Highway 47 connects these two highways to the north of much of the park, although it divides the Pihanga Scenic Reserve. The southern link is State Highway 49. The North Island Main Trunk railway from Auckland to Wellington passes through Waimarino.

The main entrance to the park is at Whakapapa Village, reached via State Highway 48. A mountain road leads from Whakapapa Village to Iwikau Village, which is at the base of the Whakapapa ski field. On the Turoa side, the Ohakune Mountain Road connects Ohakune township to the base of the Turoa ski field. This road rises 910 meters through rimu forest, beech forest, and tussock. There is also a ski field access road to the Tukino ski field. These three roads each go above 1,700 meters above sea level. Other roads into the park include Mangatepopo Road and Ketetahi Road, which provide access to the start and end points of the Tongariro Alpine Crossing.

The most popular track in Tongariro National Park is the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. Most of this track is also part of the Tongariro Northern Circuit, a two- to four-day hike that is one of New Zealand's ten Great Walks. Side trips to the summits of Mount Tongariro and Mount Ngauruhoe are possible on these tracks, though the Department of Conservation does not encourage them. Another route is the three- to six-day Round the Mountain Track around Mount Ruapehu. In addition, there are many shorter trails suitable for day hikes. Rock climbing is also an activity available in the park.

The snow season runs from late June to early November. The largest ski area, Whakapapa, is on the north-western slopes of Mount Ruapehu. As of 2026, it has 12 lifts covering an area of 5.5 kilometers (2.1 square miles). The base of the ski field is at Iwikau Village, located at the top of the Bruce Road, 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) from the Tongariro National Park Visitor Centre. Iwikau Village has 46 ski club huts, most of which also allow non-club members to stay. Other facilities and accommodations are located in Whakapapa Village at the base of the mountain.

A second ski field, Turoa, is on the south-western slope. It has nine lifts and covers an area of 5 kilometers (1.9 square miles). There is no accommodation at Turoa ski field; the nearest town is Ohakune. These two ski fields were managed together starting in 2000. The company later went into receivership, and in November 2023, Pure Tūroa, a Māori collective, took over a 10-year lease of Turoa. Management of Whakapapa remained with the receivers.

In addition to these major ski fields, there is Tukino, a club ski field that is open to the public. Tukino Skifield has three nutcracker rope tows and covers 1.7 kilometers (0.66 square miles). The field is accessed via a 4WD road from State Highway 1. The Tukino field is operated by the Tukino Mountain Clubs Association, which represents the Desert Alpine Ski Club, Tukino Alpine Sports Club, and the Aorangi Ski Club on the south-eastern slope. Each of the three ski clubs has an accommodation block on the field.

Mountain biking was originally only allowed on the main formed roads in the park. However, a partial review of the National Park Management Plan (2006) in 2011 allowed public mountain biking and concessions for mountain biking operations on two additional routes: the Old Coach Road and the track from the Desert Road to the Pillars of Hercules (a gorge on the Tongariro River). A further partial review of the management plan in 2018 provided for additional mountain biking options on future shared-use walking and mountain biking tracks through the park, on the routes Turoa to Ohakune, Ohakune to Horopito, and Horopito to National Park. The 2018 amendment also permitted the use of e-bikes on the approved routes.

The first stage of Te Ara Mangawhero, a cycling and walking track between Mount Ruapehu and Ohakune, opened on 4 November 2024. The iwi Ngāti Rangi, the Department of Conservation, and Ruapehu District Council worked together to build the 11.4-kilometer loop track, which is expected to bring more tourists to the area. The track passes through sub-alpine forest along an old bush tramway. Eventually, the track is expected to extend toward Turoa ski field and become part of the Mountains to Sea trail from Mount Ruapehu down the Whanganui River to the sea.

Recreational activities in Tongariro National Park, especially in the alpine areas, carry some risk because visitors may fall, get lost, or be unprepared for sudden or severe weather changes. There are memorials in the park for early visitors who lost their lives. Horace Holl is remembered on a memorial near the Mangaturuturu Hut on the 'Round the Mountain' track. Holl was a well-known climber and explorer who drowned in 1927 while leading a pack horse across a flooded river. The Stanton memorial, a plaque on a large rock in the Whakapapaiti Valley, honors 18-year-old Warwick Stanton, who died in August 1931. Stanton was one of a group of 14 university students caught in bad weather on Mount Ruapehu. He left the group to seek help but did not survive. Only months after Stanton died, the Mountain Guides Act was passed in November 1931 to license alpine guides, in an effort to prevent similar tragedies.

Recent incidents include hikers dying from hypothermia in 2018 and 2019, a climber dying after a fall in 2020, and people dying in skiing accidents in 2022 and 2024. In 2017, a report by the Mountain Safety Council showed that Tongariro National Park had the most tramping-related search and rescue incidents among all public conservation areas in New Zealand.

Sudden weather changes have caused several major incidents in the park.

In popular culture

A 1984 movie called Wild Horses was filmed in the park. The story is about a disagreement between people who care for Kaimanawa horses, people who manage deer populations, and park workers.

Peter Jackson filmed parts of The Lord of the Rings trilogy on Mount Ruapehu. These scenes included places that looked like Mount Doom, Ithilien, and Mordor. Visitors can see these filming locations at the Mangawhero River, Whakapapa ski field, and Tukino ski field.

Mount Ngauruhoe was also in the movie Hunt for the Wilderpeople.

The landscapes of Tongariro National Park were used as the setting for Queen Bavmorda's castle in the 1988 movie Willow.