On September 23, 1887, Horonuku Te Heuheu Tūkino IV, paramount chief of Ngāti Tūwharetoa, signed a deed placing the mountaintops of Tongariro, Ngāuruhoe, and Ruapehu beyond sale. New Zealand History's account is careful about intent: what the iwi intended was joint responsibility between Ngāti Tūwharetoa and the Crown for protecting the sacred maunga, not a simple gift. The 2,638-hectare nucleus became the base of Tongariro National Park, New Zealand's first and the world's fourth, confirmed in the New Zealand Gazette in 1907 once sufficient land was in Crown title. The Department of Conservation describes the park as a dual World Heritage area recognizing both its Māori cultural and spiritual associations and its volcanic features.

Living practice is the point of the entry: DOC states plainly that the mountains are sacred to local iwi and that they respectfully ask visitors not to summit the mountains in the park, with Ngāti Hikairo ki Tongariro identified as the kaitiaki (guardians) of the sacred maunga. In late 2025 two fires burned significant areas of the park near the Alpine Crossing's start, and Ngāti Hikairo ki Tongariro placed a ten-year restorative rāhui over the affected area, asking visitors to stay on tracks, clean their gear, and stay out of burned areas off-track. The Tongariro Alpine Crossing is famous walking, but the park's identity is a covenant about tapu, and visitor behavior is part of how that covenant is kept.

Visiting

DOC, Tongariro National Park. No park entry fee. The Tongariro Alpine Crossing track booking is free but required to use shuttle or guided-walk services, and bookings are recommended for all users. Summer visitors cannot park at Mangatepopo; shuttles from local towns are the practical access. May to October requires alpine skills. No dogs and no drones without permit; shuttle fares are set by private operators.

Photo: Krzysztof Golik, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mount_Ngauruhoe_01.jpg))