Mountains have great spiritual significance to Maori people. So it was a great gesture of trust when, in 1887, Maori chief Te Heuheu Tukino IV gifted three spectacular volcanic mountains to the nation.
The mountains - Ruapehu, Tongariro, Ngauruhoe - and adjoining lands formed the Tongariro National Park, which is in the centre of the North Island. Recognition as a world heritage site in the early 1990s confirmed the great natural and cultural significance of this area.
The region is still volcanically active. Mount Ruapehu erupted in 1996, coating its snow-covered slopes with a thick layer of ash. Near the barren rock-strewn summit of Tongariro, wildly-coloured crater lakes and sulphurous smells leave hikers in no doubt about the nature of the land they are standing on.
Walking trails range from short excursions through lowland forests to the popular eight-hour Tongariro Crossing. Overnight hikes include the Round the Mountain track, which takes four to six days to circumnavigate the lower slopes of Mount Ruapehu. In winter, two large ski fields operate on this mountain.
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