Ko te pātūwatawata o te iwi e mataara ana, ko Tauhara Maunga.
Tauhara Maunga stands as the sentinel of the north — watching, guarding, protecting across generations.
Te Mana o Tauhara brings together founding landowners, whānau, community, and partners in a shared kaupapa to restore, reconnect, and regenerate Tauhara Maunga and the surrounding whenua.
Tauhara Maunga is a tīpuna maunga.
Tauhara Maunga is a 65,000-year-old dormant volcano rising to 1,088 metres above sea level, just 7 kilometres east of Taupō township, under the continuous kaitiakitanga of Ngāti Tūwharetoa and ngā hapū o Te Hikuwai.
The maunga is under the kaitiakitanga of Tauhara Mountain Trust and is privately owned Māori land, with access to the maunga offered as a koha to the public.
A trail climbs through steep pasture and dense native ngahere to the summit, where panoramic views stretch across the central plateau. More than 50,000+ visitors walk the trail each year, making it one of the most beloved hikes in the Taupō rohe.
Yet the stories, whakapapa, and living presence that make this place extraordinary remain largely untold.
Te Mana o Tauhara Trust and the founding landowners are on a journey to ensure the maunga and surrounding whenua is experienced not just as a destination, but as a treasured place deserving of care, respect, and reverence.
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Ka Ora Te Taiao - Restore
We are restoring the native korowai of Tauhara Maunga, caring for its geothermal ecosystems, and building thriving habitat so taonga species return, manu become abundant, and the whenua is healthy and sustaining itself once more.
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Ka Ora Te Tangata - Reconnect
We create safe, meaningful eco-tourism and community experiences that reconnect people with Tauhara Maunga, inviting visitors to walk, learn, and engage as respectful manuhiri to a tīpuna maunga.
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Ka ora te Whenua - Regenerate
Working together across the wider Tauhara landscape to suppress pests, coordinate land management strategies with neighbouring whenua, and ensure our operations are regenerative, so that taiao regeneration is protected at scale.
Ngā Whai Hua - What We’ve Achieved
Ko Tauhara te maunga,
ko Taupō-nui-a-Tia te moana,
ko Tūwharetoa te iwi.
Ngā Pānui — What’s Happening
Join us on the restoration journey of Tauhara Maunga and the surrounding whenua.
