Te Puia Daytime Experience
Our guided tours
A personal encounter with our people, our culture and our land.
Our tradition of guiding at Te Puia is something that we pride ourselves on. Our guided tours reflect that legacy, which we strive to live up to. Many of the guides you meet can link themselves to Rotorua’s earliest hosts. The stories they relay in many cases have been told for generations, handed down through their individual families.
Guided Tours: Hourly from 9am, last tour departs 5.00pm Summer / 4.00pm Winter.
Other tour highlights
Te Heketanga ā Rangi
The main entrance to Te Puia is called Te Heketanga ā Rangi (heavenly origins). Twelve monumental contemporary carvings reach skywards, each representing a celestial guardian in Te Arawa culture.
Te Whare Tapere
Discover the stories of our ancestors’ arrival and settlement in the valley, and explore the customs and traditions of the people, as well as the geology and natural history.
Kiwi House
See our national symbol in a specially lit kiwi house, with expert guides and information at hand.
Ngā Mōkai-ā-Koko Mud Pool
A large pool of boiling mud, whose names means the pets or play things of Chief Koko. The Europeans named it “Frog Pool”, likening the plopping mud to leaping frogs.
Whakarewarewa Thermal Valley
This special valley is by any standards unique. The geothermal environment is of enormous geological significance, with thermal activity ranging from boiling mud to the world-famous 30-metre (100-foot) Pohutu geyser, erupting up to 20 times each day. Hot springs, boiling sulphurous pools, silica terraces and bubbling mud pools are among the natural wonders.
The valley is also home to many species of native plants and animals.
Carving and Weaving Schools
In Te Wānanga Whakairo Rākau the prestigious art of carving is taught by Master Carvers. Te Rito, our weaving school, trains students in the art and skills of traditional weaving.
Tāonga Gallery and Gift Shop
Here you can see a range of works – carvings, woven items, greenstones and other authentic treasures, and take home something unique and special from Te Puia.
