Mount Eden
A volcanic cone inside the city, with a perfect crater and a view of both harbours.
Duration
1 hr – 1 hr 30 min
Difficulty
●●○○○
Best time
At sunrise
Open
Every day
Entry price
Free
Maungawhau, or Mount Eden, is a volcanic cone of one hundred and ninety-six metres, the highest natural point in Auckland. The city sits on a volcanic field of some fifty cones, all formed within the last two hundred and fifty thousand years, and the field is not extinct.
The crater is fifty metres deep and it is tapu, sacred to Māori: you walk around it, you do not go down into it. The terraces visible on the flanks are the remains of a pā, a fortified Māori settlement of several thousand people.
Getting there
Five kilometres from the city centre. Bus from Britomart then a fifteen-minute climb on foot: the summit road has been closed to cars since 2011.
Hours
The access road is closed to cars; you walk up
What to bring
- Walking shoes
Rules on site
Going down into the crater is forbidden: it is tapu, and signs say so. The summit road is closed to private vehicles — the climb is on foot.
