Taranaki Maunga Summit Climb

From the Visitor Centre, the Summit Track follows the boardwalk up to a locked gate. Cross the stile and continue up the gravel Translator Road (walking access only) to the privately owned Tahurangi Lodge. Sections of this track are very steep. There is a public toilet 100 m below the lodge and a small day shelter room at the lodge. Be prepared for this to take 1 ½ hours, as you’ll be gaining over 500m of vertical elevation over this section. From Tahurangi Lodge, the track continues upwards via a poled route through the rock-covered Hongi Valley. A series of steps leads out of the valley onto steep scoria (gravel) slopes. Be aware of rockfall through this area. Continue uphill to the Lizard (2134m), a prominent rocky ridge which leads you to the crater’s summer entrance. A narrow rocky ledge leads down into the crater. It has a steep drop-off and can be icy at any time year - extreme caution is required. The route then crosses the crater ice to the final short climb up to the summit rock. There is ice in the crater all year round - crampons and/or an ice axe may be required to cross the crater at any time. On the map, the summit looks very close from Tahurangi Lodge, as it is only 2.3km away, but the track is very challenging and has over 1000 metres of elevation gain, so you’ll need to allow 3 to 4 hours. Return the way you came up. This won't take as long, but you'll need to take extra care on the scree descent. Sinking your heels into the scree and jogging down is often easier than trying to walk. Consider taking walking poles to help your stability.

The track starts in North Egmont. From New Plymouth, follow SH3 for 13 km to Egmont Village. Turn onto Egmont Road and follow this up the mountain to North Egmont. Use this location in Google Maps to find your way there. Parking at North Egmont is limited during summer, so get there early or arrange a shuttle. Although no scheduled transport service exists, shuttles can be arranged through several local transport providers. Contact Taranaki Visitor Centre for contact details. An alternate starting point is from the Stratford Plateau car park at East Egmont. Use this location in Google Maps to find your way there. After parking your car, follow signs across the ski field toward Tahurangi Lodge to join the Summit Track. This takes around 1 hour 30 minutes.

We encourage you to continue gaining the skills and knowledge required for a safe trip. The NZ Mountain Safety Council has lots of free resources and information you can use. These can be accessed via www.mountainsafety.org.nz . We recommend trying these online learning tools: Trip Planning Tramping / field Skills Basic Navigation Additionally, check out the range of helpful videos available from the NZ Mountain Safety Council YouTube channel .

Taranaki can be a very windy spot; this is more likely as you gain elevation and especially exposed above the treeline. This can develop strong wind chill conditions, even in the summer months. Taranaki is a lone mountain, so it is exposed to weather from all sides. Passing frontal systems can drop a lot of rain on the mountain in a short period causing rivers and side streams to rise rapidly. There can still be snow/ice present at higher elevations well into summer and new snow may fall at any time of year.

No dogs.