9 best Tongariro National Park Lord of the Rings locations – Mount Doom New Zealand

While photographers and sightseers can enjoy this post with absolutely no interest in the movies – these photo locations are stunning, that’s why they were chosen to be the backdrop for movie sets of course – LOTR fans are going to lose their minds! Or at least, I did… You’ll see why I loved Tongariro National Park as a both Tolkien-lover and backpacker by the end of this post, that’s for sure.

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Best Tongariro National Park Lord of the Rings locations

MOUNT NGAURUHOE 

Oh, Mount Ngauruhoe, sometimes known by his alias ‘Mount Doom’. Though let’s not be hasty, this magnificent mountain has been the subject of regard and curiosity well before Tolkien’s days. Ngauruhoe holds its own significance to those who first inhabited the North Island, which can not be understated. Tongariro was a sacred place to the Maori ancestors and remains an important place.

Travellers to the area should respect the mountain – not least by respecting the wildlife here and ‘leaving no trace’ of your footsteps when you leave. It is also very important to not climb the mountain but to enjoy its beauty from a distance.

So, where are the best places to see Mount Ngauruhoe / Mount Doom from?

Honestly, on a fairly clear day, you can’t miss it! Even just driving through or past the national park often gives great views of the mountains – from either the desert road on the East or the highway to the West.

Perhaps the best way to see Mount Ngauruhoe is from the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, lauded as the best day hike in North Island, New Zealand. The views here are outstanding, and it does feel like you’re trekking through Mordor and Middle Earth!

The hike is a photographer’s dream – from the blue lakes, craters and peaks, and vast volcanic terrain. You may notice the volcano is absolutely not blowing ash and lava as Mount Doom does in the movies. Thankfully the real deal hasn’t erupted since 1975.

Read more about all the great views along New Zealand’s beloved hike: Hiking the Tongariro Alpine Crossing: one does simply walk to Mordor

OHAKUNE MOUNTAIN ROAD & MT RUAPEHO

Get inspired along the beautiful Ohakune Mountain Road, with its craggy rocky outcrops and snowy mountain up ahead. That mountain is Mount Ruapehu, the other star attraction of the national park. Mount Ruapehu is the tallest mountain on the North Island, reaching 2796m.

At the top of this road, the mountain also lends itself as a stunning ski field throughout the Winter months. We drove all the way up to Turoa Ski Field just to awe at the surrounding nature, though snow-lovers will, of course want to stay longer if visiting during ski season. If anything, this is the view that felt most ‘Mordor’ to me.

Mangawhero Falls

Make sure you stop at Mangawhero Falls as you enjoy the beautiful drive up Ohakune Mountain Road! The small car park is signposted, and from there, it’s just a 5-minute walk to see the falls.

As you can see from the photos below, the falls were fantastically stunning in Winter, with icicles dripping from the rocks and splashing down into the frozen pool below.

Lord of the Rings fans, don’t forget to look DOWN at Mangawhero River! If you’re lucky, you might just see Gollum catching a fish… Well, perhaps not. But Andy Serkis really did have to dash around in the freezing waters while wearing a green-screen-friendly wetsuit some twenty years ago! In fact, it was so cold during the filming of this scene, that Peter Jackson had to ask the crew to melt all the surrounding snow. Ouch – good on Andy for getting stuck in!

If you remember the scene filmed here, in which Gollum is catching a fish and watched by Faramir and his archers, you may notice the waterfall featured ISN’T Mangawhero Falls. Well, there’s a good reason for this – for the rest of the shot, the filmmakers used Tawhai Falls…

TAWHAI FALLS

Tawhai Falls is a small yet stunning waterfall along State Highway 48 toward Whakapapa Ski Field. It’s the perfect place for visitors to see some contrasting scenery to Ruapehu’s volcanic peaks, and photographers to get their ‘long-exposure’ fix. Tawhai Falls was also used in The Lord of the Rings movies to complete the scene described above at Mangawhero River.

Please note – the rocks here are SLIPPY! There is a beautiful view of the falls from above which is just a 5-minute walk from the car park as a more accessible option. You can then follow the track for another few minutes down to the bottom.

BRUCE ROAD

Follow the highway from Tawhai Falls towards Whakapapa Ski Field to get to my absolute favourite view of Mount Ngaurahoe!

I was attempting to find the location where Frodo and Sam get lost trying to find the Black Gate of Mordor – an iconic scene from the LOTR films – but alas, it meant following the Bruce Road further than I could go, and heading into the ski field.

But no matter! This shot was taken at one of the pullover areas on the way toward the ski field. There are a few different [places to park with great vantage points over Mount Ngaurahoe. I think this is probably my favourite photo from my time in Tongariro National Park – I mean, this is the closest I’m ever going to get to looking like a Hobbit off on an adventure, right?

There are actually a few shots from the movies taken around here – from Elrond leading his elves into battle to Frodo and Sam capturing a sneaky Smeagol for the first time. Of course, there was a lot of CGI working its magic, but that doesn’t take away from the magic already abound in this unpredictable scenery.

RANGIPO DESERT

While famous for its peaks and ski fields, Tongariro National Park is also home to this strangely desert-like environment. The stark and barren nature made it the perfect place to film an orc army storming through Middle Earth.

You’ll see it best by driving along the desert road, although there aren’t many places to pull over. Make sure you get any gas, snacks, or loo breaks in before you make the drive, as there aren’t any gas stations along this road.

For more information about the behind-the-scenes of these amazing The Lord of the Rings movie locations, and more precise advice on how to visit them all, I’d highly recommend reading the official LOTR movie location guidebook:

Where to stay in Tongariro National Park?