The beginning of the track at Whakapapa Village. The Mangatepopo Track is usually walked first in the Circuit, while the Taranaki Falls are to be passed at its very end. Photo NC.

This is a superb route which will take you through a complete range of the natural environments that are to be met in and around the 'Tongariro Volcanic Complex'. From Whakapapa to Mangatepopo the track stretches through the vast, open and somewhat rolling expanses of red tussock that contribute one of the strongest visual characters of the park. Thereafter and until Emerald Lakes this is the same route as the Tongariro Crossing, right in the middle of a diverse and spectacular volcanic environment rich in vivid colours and strange mineral formations. The Oturere Valley which follows, once carved by glaciers and now filled by a huge lava flow, provides an equally rewarding walk. After Oturere Hut an essentially mineral world of volcanic ashes and scoria, with rare patches of silver tussock and other hardy vegetation, shares many of the characteristics of the famous Rangipo Desert, further south on the eastern slopes of Ruapehu. More glacial valleys, as well as some mountain beech forest, are crossed before reaching the Waihohonu Hut, where the environment changes again. The last leg of the trip is walked first through dense tussock and scrub vegetation, which turns gradually to nearly pure red tussock at the higher altitude of the Tama Lakes and all the way down to Whakapapa Village. At all stages of this walk superb views will be enjoyed, especially over the symmetrical cone of Ngaruhoe as well as Ruapehu, and further afield towards the Whanganui country in the west, and the Kaimanawa Ranges in the east.