2 Best Sights in Taupo, East Coast and the Volcanic Zone

The construction of the local geothermal project had an impressive—and unforeseen—effect. Boiling mud pools, steaming vents, and large craters appeared in an area now known as Craters of the Moon. A marked walkway snakes for 3 km (2 miles) through the belching, sulfurous landscape, past boiling pits and hissing crevices. The craters are up Karapiti Road, across from the Huka Falls turnoffs on Highway 1, 3 km (2 miles) north of Taupō.

Even if you've seen enough bubbling pools and fuming craters to last a lifetime, the thermal valley of Orakei Korako is still likely to captivate you. Geyser-fed streams hiss and steam as they flow into the waters of the lake, and a cream-and-pink silica terrace is believed to be the largest in the world since the volcanic destruction of the terraces of Rotomahana. At the bottom of Aladdin's Cave, the vent of an ancient volcano, a jade-green pool was once used by Māori women as a beauty parlor, which is how the name Orakei Korako (A Place of Adorning) originated. The valley is 37 km (23 miles) north of Taupō, via Highway 1, and takes about 25 minutes to reach by car; you could always see it en route to or from Rotorua, which lies another 68 km (43 miles) northeast of the valley.