Things to do at Mount Tarawera

Mount Tarawera looks like an ordinary bush-covered ridge until you see the 17-kilometre rift that split it open on 10 June 1886, in the country's deadliest eruption of the past two centuries. The blast buried villages and destroyed the Pink and White Terraces, once the region's main drawcard.

The mountain sits on Māori-owned land, so there is no self-guided trail: access is by 4WD convoy up the access road, by helicopter landing on the crater rim, or on a guided crater-rim walk, typically running NZD 150-280 per person for a few hours including transport.

Tours usually depart Rotorua, around a 20-25 minute drive to the base, and can be cancelled at short notice for weather or cultural reasons.