"Tongariro Crossing " a Tongariro National Park Travel Page by scrooge1947

The Tongariro Crossing,runs between the sadle of Mt. Ngauruhoe and Mt. Tongariro, entry is from Mangatepopo Road although it can be done in reverse. but on our day only passed 3 people coming to-wards us.
Entry to join the path could also be made from The Whakapapa Visitor Centre
It is a 17k one way hike, they say allow 6-7 hrs plus 2 hrs for siteseeing and lunch. Us oldies did it in exactly 6 hrs with 3 stops, but I have heard of people taking 9 hrs.
There are other walks in the area including the Northern Circuit which is 50k and takes 3-4 days.
Temperatures can be from 3 to 35deg in the summer and -5 to 10deg in the winter.
It is sensible to have warm clothes (even in the summer) and good footwear, water is also needed to be carried in, as with all National Parks whatever you take in take out with you, but most of all take care and enjoy, a small camera is a must, even a throw-away would do the job.
The photo of Mt. Ngauruhoe was taken from the Dessert Road the track runs on the other side of the mountain shown.

The red line is the Tongariro Crossing, the blue lines the Northern Circuit.

From this brochure you can see the three moutains Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro, obviously we would be seeing a different picture with snow in the winter.

THIS BROCHURE BECOMES CLEAR WHEN ENLARGED.