Tongariro National Park is in the central North Island of New Zealand, to the southwest of Lake Taupo. It contains a considerable part of the North Island Volcanic Plateau, including the volcanic mountains Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro. The park covers 796 km2 (307 square miles). The nearest town to the park is Ohakune, but the parks' headquarters are at the aptly named settlement of National Park .
It was the first national park to be established in New Zealand and the fourth in the world. In 1887 Te Heuheu Tukino IV (Horonuku), the paramount chief of the Maori Ngati Tuwharetoa iwi, gifted the peaks to the nation. The park was formally gazetted in 1907 and is a World Heritage Site.
It has a network of hiking trails and huts. Three skifields named Whakapapa, Turoa and Tukino are sited on Ruapehu.
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