Tongariro National Park is the hot heart of the North Island of New Zealand. Created in 1894 as the first national park in New Zealand, and only the fourth in the world, it now has dual World Heritage status, on both natural and cultural grounds.

A spectacular landscape

This is a surreal wonderland with active volcanoes, boiling mud pools, fumaroles, and sulphurous pits alongside tussock grassland and the country's only desert. Three volcanoes — Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe, and Tongariro — make up the core of this park, which is almost 200,000 acres in size. Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe are active volcanoes, but Tongariro is extinct.

The Tongariro Northern Circuit is a spectacular, easy-to-follow alpine route that takes in the best of these natural phenomena. As a bonus it includes the Tongariro Crossing, regarded as the best one-day walk in New Zealand because of the unique craters, steaming lakes, and volcanic formations along the route.

	About the Tramp Tongariro Northern Circuit is a four-day walk that can be extended to seven. It winds around three sacred volcanoes: Ruapehu (active, approximately 2,797 meters, although volcanic activity is changing the shape of the upper reaches); Ngauruhoe (active, 2,287 meters); Tongariro (extinct, 1,967 meters). The route passes through craters and volcanic debris, tussock grassland, desert, and native woodland. Day 1: Whakapapa Village to Mangatepopo Hut. Day 2: Mangatepopo Hut to Ketetahi Hut. Day 3: Ketetahi Hut to New Waihohonu Hut. Day 4: New Waihohonu Hut to Whakapapa Village. Distance: 41 km without extensions.

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About the Author: Judy Armstrong is a New Zealander, now settled in England. She is an award-winning feature writer, specializing in adventure travel and outdoor pursuits — from mountain biking and horse riding to ski touring and walking. She has traveled widely through North and South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia, and has contributed a feature on trekking Bhutan to GORP.