Tongariro National Park - New Zealand North Island

The Tongariro National Park is located on a high plateau in New Zealand's main area of volcanic activity. In this zone, the Pacific tectonic plate is sinking beneath the Australian Plate. Recent large eruptions have created the landscape. The most popular activity in the park is hiking. People come from all around the world to do the Tongariro Crossing. The world famous Tongariro Alpine Crossing is a 19 km hike over Mt. Tongariro, taking you from herb fields to forest to high volcanic lakes and landscapes. The hike can be done in a day and many services in the area offer a car shuttle. For Lord Of The Rings Fans, this dramatic landscape is where much of the filming was done during Frodo and Sam's journey into the land of Sauron. Mt. Ngauruhoe was used for Mt Doom, although it was digitally altered of course. If you want to climb Mt. Doom (Mt. Ngauruhoe), there is a track marked with poles to the summit. For those looking for nice accommodations, the Chateau Tongariro at the foot of Mt. Ruapehu is a memorable location. It was built in 1929 to encourage international tourists to visit. The Chateau is located in the Whakapapa Village which also has car camping options. Above is the village is New Zealands largest commercial ski field in winter and spring, in summer are crater lakes, alpine meadows and moon-like landscapes (location of Mordor). Other activities offered include horse-trekking, quad-biking, rock-climbing, sky-diving and mountain-biking.