Currently closed.?

Sunrise from the summit of Hikurangi has been the most incredible experience of 1 1/2 years of travel in NZ. To do it, contact the local iwi who owns the land and arrange a hut stay. The fellow who you’ll speak to, Monty, is kind and helpful. The hut is for fee and has a wood burning stove, water, and mattresses. The hike is uphill but not technical - took me about 3 hours. You’ll want to leave plenty early for the 2.5 km climb to the summit. It took me over 2 hours in the dark. Some commenters have called it dangerous - it’s really not, except in bad weather conditions, but it IS very exposed, steep, and over scree, so if you aren’t used to that type of terrain you might be uncomfortable. Monty will give you specific directions for your summit and even have you text him once you’re off the mountain so he knows you’re safe! This mountain is sacred and you can feel it. And the sunrise is absolutely magical.

Closed till November ?

Great hike if you make it to the summit. As soon as you start you get a beautiful view of the nature and the surrounding mountains. Who tries to climb the summit should leave all his belongings in the hut so as not to carry weight unnecessarily. After the last trackmaking you have to overcome the last steep climb, which is very dangerous. You have to keep to the left of this section then you will find small, steep trails that lead up. Standing up is simply amazing. Try but have great respect for this tour!

The hike up to the Hut is easy with nice views. The unmark "path" to the summit is really dangerous!! Don't try it

Just so you all know: the track is also closed during lambing season. Wanted to do the hike to the hut but October is closed so I'll have to come back.

We hiked to the hut on the 17th. Couldn’t get ahold of the people who run the hut, but the locals said it was fine to go up. The hike to the hut is up and around through farm land on a farm road, accessible only by horse or a 4WD quad. The path to the hut is marked by yellow posts. It was a long walk, but had great views of the surrounding landscape. The sheep were skittish. A clearing full of fantastic Maori carvings is a bit lower than and visible from the hut. The next morning we hiked up about 30 minutes from the hut to a large boulder jumble to see the sunrise. It was beautiful and very cold. We then tried to continue to the summit, and after over an hour (or two?) of hiking the trail up the back of the mountain, we reached the scree slopes. The scree was very steep and loose with large rocks. It seemed much more dangerous than the hike up to the summit of Taranaki. We got to the top of one of the middle scree slopes (it was too sketchy to cross this middle slope to the furthest slope, which is where we could see the last pole marker). At the top, we had the option to scramble over steep ledges and loose rock, or turn back. We turned back. The mud on this side of the mountain was frozen when we started, but thawed a bit on our return to the hut. Most of the mud on the trail is avoidable.