Lonely Planet Praise

Lonely Planet Travel Guide, the world’s leading travel guide book, describes Orakei Korako as follows:

Between Taupo and Rotorua, Orakei Korako gets fewer visitors than other thermal areas because it’s off the beaten track. But, since the destruction of the Pink and White Terraces by the Tarawera eruption in 1886, it has been possibly the best thermal area left in NZ and one of the finest in the world.

Although three-quarters of it now lies beneath the dam waters of Lake Ohakuri, the remaining quarter is the best part.

A sometimes steep walking track mostly follows a boardwalk around the colourful silica terraces for which the park is famous, as well as visiting geysers and Ruatapu Cave. This impressive natural cave has a jade-green pool, which is thought to have been used as a mirror by Maori women who prepared for rituals here (Orakei Korako means ‘place of adorning’).

The Emerald Terrace, which sparkles like a jewel in the early morning light, is another stunning feature.