Highlights
- Stay in a beautiful hut with views of Mt Ngauruhoe and Mt Ruapehu
- See Lower Tama Lake and Taranaki Falls
- Take a side trip to visit Ohinepango Springs
- See a historic hut built over 100 years ago
Distance: 15.4 km - one way
Time: 5 hr
Track description
The track starts at Whakapapa Village. For the first hour, follow the Taranaki Falls loop walk, one of the best short walks in the Park. Take the lower section of track to pass the waterfall.
The track then climbs to Tama Saddle. This area can be windy as it sits between the mountains. You can take a short detour (20 min return) to see Lower Tama Lake, an explosion crater now filled with water.
The track then descends from the saddle, following Waihohonu Stream to Waihohonu Hut.
Return to Whakapapa Village the way you came.
Side trip: Historic Waihohonu Hut
Time: 20 min return from Waihohonu Hut; 10 min return from the Tongariro Northern Circuit Track
Built in 1903/04, this was the first hut built in Tongariro National Park. It's the oldest example of a typical early two-room mountain hut in New Zealand. Historic Waihohonu Hut.
Side trip: Ohinepango Springs
Time: 1 hr return from Waihohonu Hut
Crystal clear cold water bubbles up from beneath the old lava flow and discharges at an enormous rate into the Ohinepango Stream.
The springs are signposted on the Round the Mountain Track heading south towards Rangipo Hut.