Ōrākei Kōrako

About this place

Ōrākei Kōrako is a highly active geothermal area in a valley on the banks of the Waikato River, about 25 km in a straight line north of Lake Taupō, within the Taupō Volcanic Zone. It is best known for its series of fault-stepped silica sinter terraces and is also called «The Hidden Valley». The Ministry for Culture and Heritage translates the name as «place of adornment near the white sinter flat». From early times the Waikato valley near Ōrākei Kōrako was home to Ngāti Tahu and Ngāti Whaoa, who gathered here in the early 19th century, probably drawn by the hot springs, which they used for cooking and bathing. Visitors cross the river by small boat to a steaming bank, then follow boardwalks over white, yellow and orange terraces washed by hot water and tinted green by algae and bacteria. There are geysers, boiling pools and terraces such as the Emerald Terrace and the Golden Fleece, and higher up is Ruatapu Cave, where steps lead down to a green pool at its base. Entry is paid, and boats cross the river at regular intervals. Keep to the boardwalks, as the ground is thin and the water scalding, and allow about an hour and a half for the loop.