Tūrangi lies at the southern end of Lake Taupō on the banks of the Tongariro River – world famous for its fly fishing, and home to the native blue duck/whio.

Te Mātāpuna/South Taupō Wetland extends around the southern edge of Lake Taupō between Motuoapa and Waihi including the Tongariro River delta. It is an important habitat for a number of threatened species of birds and a wide variety of plants.

The lands surrounding Lake Taupō are widely known as the tribal lands of Ngāti Tūwharetoa. Ngātoroirangi, principle ancestor of the iwi, laid claim over these lands as he surveyed the area shortly after the arrival of the Te Arawa canoe to Aotearoa.

Other iwi also inhabited these lands, namely Ngāti Hotu, Ngāti Ruakōpiri and Ngāti Kurapoto. For centuries these iwi lived off the ika/fish, kōura/crayfish and kākahi/mussels which were plentiful in the lake and its rivers until the introduction of trout in the 1880s.

European settlement expanded following the introduction of trout.

Tūrangi remained a quiet village until the 1960s when the growing demand for hydropower saw the town expand. The town accommodated hundreds of construction workers and their families employed to work on the Tongariro hydro power scheme.

Tūrangi sits within the rohe of Ngāti Tūrangitukua, a subtribe of Tūwharetoa.