7 things to do in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park — land of rocky mountains and icy lakes
From hiking to see the Tasman glacier to getting a glimpse of New Zealand’s tallest mountain peak, here are the best things to do in this epic national park.
Mt Cook, called Aoraki in Māori, is the tallest mountain peak in New Zealand.
This rocky spire 3,724 metres above sea level is where Sir Edmund Hillary famously honed his climbing skills before taking on Everest.
Mount Cook isn’t the only drawcard in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park; there are 19 peaks soaring over 3,000 metres and 178 glaciers covering more than a third of the park.
This makes Aoraki Mount Cook one of the most beautiful destinations in New Zealand. When you think of New Zealand landscapes, you’re probably picturing the kinds of scenery you’ll find in Aoraki/Mount Cook.
From Mount Cook Village, you can go on short walks or overnight hikes through the rocky landscapes, see glaciers and go star gazing under a spectacular night sky.
It’s well worth staying in Aoraki/Mount Cook Village for a night or two, to explore all the wonderful things to do in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park.
jump ahead.
My recommendation; stay overnight in Aoraki/Mount Cook Village
Photo credit Miles Holden
Mount Cook village is the key entry point to Aoraki Mount Cook National Park — several short walks and overnight hikes start from the village. It’s also well worth visiting for the pristine night sky, and other activities such as boat tours and heli hikes to the Tasman Glacier.
It’s worth spending at least one night in Mt Cook Village, to check out the short walks and epic stargazing. There’s also something very special about spending the night in the magical national park.
On my last visit, I arrived around midday, hiked up to the Sealy Tarns, and then camped overnight at the White Horse Hill Campground, with a quick trip to Kea Point at sunset.
I left the next morning as I’ve hiked the Hooker Valley Track before, but I could have easily added in that walk as well, and still had plenty of time to get to my next stop.
A word of warning: Accommodation in Mount Cook village is very limited and books up quickly. BOOK IN ADVANCE — check availability on Booking.com now.
If there are no rooms available, the White Horse Hill campground is a great choice for anyone in a campervan.
Alternatively, Lakestone Lodge on the edge of Lake Pukaki is an absolutely stunning place to stay, only a short drive away.
6 quick tips for visiting Aoraki Mount Cook
The easiest way to get to Aoraki/Mount Cook is to drive — it’s almost halfway between Queenstown and Christchurch. The road in is astounding, but please don’t put yourself in danger by trying to take middle of the road photos.
Although you can buy petrol in the village, it’s much cheaper to fill up your car in Twizel or Lake Tekapo.
There is no grocery store in the village, so if you plan on cooking your own meals, stop for supplies in Tekapo or Twizel.
There are limited options for food in the village (two cafes and one restaurant) so bring enough food for your time there or budget for eating out (dinner at the Hermitage is from $65 for an adult and from what I’ve heard, it’s not exceptional).
The Hermitage Hotel offers a breakfast buffet for $39 in their Alpine Restaurant from 7am-10am. You don’t need to book, and the views from the dining room are stunning so it’s worth checking out even if you’re not staying there.
As with all national parks in New Zealand, Aoraki Mount Cook is free to enter and the hiking trails and DOC visitor centre are also free to access.
The best hikes in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park
The main things to in Aoraki/Mount Cook are hikes - this is where you’ll find some of the best short walks in New Zealand.
A quick note on over tourism. The Hooker Valley Track in Aoraki/Mount Cook is one of the most popular short-ish walks in New Zealand. There’s a reason for that — it’s stunning. But, popularity means it’s also very, very busy.
You can expect the carpark and trail to be pretty packed all day if you’re visiting over summer. Consider going earlier in the morning, or later in the evening.
Better still, seriously consider the other walks in the area to escape the crowds and spread out the pressure on that one trail.
1. Hike the Hooker Valley Track — the best activity in the national park
Easy 3 hour return walk
The main activity that people come to Aoraki/Mount Cook for is the Hooker Valley Track. This walk is possibly one of the best short walks in New Zealand.
It’s only three hours return and the track is accessible to people of all levels of fitness and experience. It feels very special being able to see glacial and mountain scenery on such an accessible walk.
The trail is very clearly marked and evenly graded the whole way. Lots of families with children make the trek.
The walk takes you through a valley to the Hooker Lake, where you can see icebergs crumbling from the Hooker glacier, and the peak of Aoraki/Mount Cook rising behind the glacier.
Some tips:
The track is popular, so to avoid the crowds start as early as you can — if you stay in Mount Cook Village, set off when it gets light to have the track to yourself.
The carpark fills up pretty quick, so if you get there later in the day you might need to find a park on the side of the road.
When you reach the end of the track, you can make your way around to the left, near the Hooker River, to get away from the crowds.
The view at the end is highly weather dependent. You can check the weather in advance on cameras to see whether or not it’s looking clear.
It can be cold on the walk (you’re near glaciers!) but there is also little protection from the sun, so make sure you take a hat and sunscreen.
Just a reminder you can’t use drones on the Hooker Valley Track (as in most national parks in New Zealand).
2. Climb the ‘stairway to heaven’ to see the Sealy Tarns
3-4 hour return walk
Another epic hike in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park is the Sealy Tarns track.
A tarn is a small mountain lake which often form in glacial landscapes.
Climbing up to the Sealy Tarns involves 2,200 steps, which people call the ‘stairway to heaven.’
The stairs leading up to the tarns
It sounds more intimidating than it is, although steep the track is in good condition and has great views of the Hooker valley and Aoraki/Mount Cook. Take your time and in no time at all you’ll find yourself looking at the freshwater tarns.
In summer, alpine flowers add an extra element of beauty.
3. Hike to Mueller Hut
4 hours one way
Mueller Hut is famous for being built and opened by Sir Edmund Hillary. From it’s rocky mountain perch, it beckons to hikers and climbers who want to spend a night in a superb alpine environment.
The hut is located two hours beyond the Sealy Tarns.
It’s a four hour hike in total to reach the hut from the Aoraki/Mount Cook Visitor Centre, so if the hut is booked, and it often is, you can hike up and back as a tough but rewarding day hike.
Despite its popularity, this is still an alpine hike in difficult terrain.
In the summer months — December to February — you can hike the Mueller Hut route with moderate experience.
Outside of this time you might need mountaineering experience with crampons and ice axes.
Ask at the Aoraki/Mount Cook Visitor Centre for guidance on conditions, and don’t overestimate your abilities.
It’s free to enter the visitor centre and well worth visiting to learn more about the national park and the trails you can find there.
Explore the glaciers in Aoraki Mount Cook National Park
4. Hike to Kea Point (go at sunset for incredible colours)
1 hour return from White Horse Hill Campground
The Kea Point track is a gorgeous easy walk you can do from the campground.
At the lookout point, you can see the peak of Aoraki/Mount Cook reflected in a glacial lake below.
I went around sunset and when I rounded the last corner the tip of the mountain was bathed in a warm red glow.
It was stunning, so if you’re camping I recommend checking the sunset times and going about 30 minutes before it’s due to set.
The path back to the camp is well marked and easy to follow, so as long as you have a torch you won’t get lost on the way back.
5. Hike to the Tasman Lake Viewpoint
// 1.5 kilometres return
// 1 hour return walk
The Tasman glacier is New Zealand’s longest glacier.
An impressive 23 kilometres of ice cascade out of the mountains and into the Tasman Lake.
You can walk to a view point for the Tasman glacier in one hour, so it’s a nice short hike.
From the viewpoint, you can see the stubby end of the glacier, which often looks quite dirty. It’s not the most visually impressive glacier you can see in New Zealand, at least not from this vantage point (it’s a different story if you take a helicopter up to the glacier) but it’s still cool to lay eyes on it.
The lake is a muddy, light brown colour, not quite the bright blue of Lake Pukaki, but sometimes ice bergs float in the lake.
There is also a second track which branches off the Tasman Lake Viewpoint walk and leads to the Blue Lakes, another pretty spot to admire the glacier and surrounding mountains.
I found the Blue Lakes pretty underwhelming though, so you could easily skip these and you won’t miss much.
6. Take a glacial boat tour
Cost: From $179 for 3 hours
Glacial Explorers is the only glacier boat tour in New Zealand.
The cruise takes you around the Tasman glacial lake, weaving in and out of ice bergs as you get to see the Tasman glacier from the water.
The trip takes 2.5 hours, with around 1 hour on the lake. It’s a cool way of seeing the Tasman glacier, and because the ice is constantly changing, no two days are the same.
To go on the tour, you need to be comfortable walking the 1.5km to and from the lake edge (around 25 minutes walking each way).
7. Go on a Tasman glacier heli hike
If a heli hike is within your budget, walking on the Tasman glacier might be the very best thing to do in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park.
Standing on a glacier is a surreal experience, one that brought a friend of mine to tears.
There are a couple of different heli hike tour operators, but they are priced around the same $700 per adult for a glacier landing and two hour hike.
Other incredible things to do in Aoraki Mount Cook
5. Go stargazing in the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve
Cost: $139 for 90 minutes with Big Sky
Mount Cook Village is smack in the middle of the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky reserve, which spans the national park.
The reserve protects the natural and cultural heritage in the area, as the natural dark helps preserve local ecosystems and connects Ngai Tahu (the local Maori iwi) with their history of astronomy and navigating with the stars.
You can very easily just go for a nighttime stroll around the village if you’re staying overnight.
Or, on clear nights you can take a Big Sky Stargazing tour from the Hermitage.
On this tour, astronomy guides lead a 90-minute tour with a combination of telescopes and viewing the night sky with the naked eye.
The tours operate all year round, but in the summer months, it doesn’t get fully dark until much later in the evening — in summer, tours leave at 10.30pm and 12.30am.
What you’ll see in the sky depends on the season and month.
The full moon can also affect how much you see. While you might not see as much when the full moon is out, you will get to see visuals of the moon and its craters, as well as star clusters and some planets like Jupiter and Saturn.
September is a great month to go stargazing in Aoraki Mount Cook.
The nights are still long and dark, but the arrival of spring means warmer temperatures. It's also the most accessible time to see the Milky Way core, as it passes almost directly overhead shortly after nightfall.
On some nights, you can also see the Aurora Australis/Southern Lights.
Where to stay in Mount Cook Village?
Staying overnight in Aoraki/Mount Cook Village is definitely worth it. Spending a night in a beautiful national park, which also happens to be a dark sky reserve, is a magical experience.
During the day, you can gaze up at mountain peaks, and at night you’ll see what stars look like when there’s no light pollution to dull their shine.
The only catch is that Mount Cook Village is tiny, and accommodation options are limited. You can choose to camp or splurge — there’s not much mid ground.
I stayed at the YHA in Mount Cook and loved the warm, cosy atmosphere, so I can highly recommend this hostel.
White Horse Hill Campground
This DOC run campground is the best place to stay for budget travellers. It can get cold overnight here, but it’s worth rugging up to spend a night or two in Mount Cook Village.
The stargazing is spectacular and there are so many things to do one day isn’t enough!
How to get to Aoraki/Mount Cook
The easiest way to get to Mount Cook is in your own vehicle. It’s a bit of a drive from Queenstown or Christchurch, and it’s a dead end road into the national park, but that just makes a great excuse for a road trip.
The drive along the shore of Lake Pukaki in the direction of Aoraki/Mount Cook is stunning.
There are a couple of famous photo stops where you can get a shot of the road unfurling toward the peak of Mount Cook, with the bright blue lake on the right hand side.
Queenstown to Mount Cook Village
Driving from Queenstown to Mount Cook takes around 3 hours 15 minutes. You can break up the drive with stops at places like Cardrona, Wanaka, the Lindis Pass, and Twizel.
It’s not feasible to visit Mount Cook as a day trip from Queenstown, so I recommend finding accommodation in the village, or in Lake Pukaki or Lake Tekapo.
Christchurch to Mount Cook Village
Driving from Christchurch to Mount Cook takes a solid four hours.
You’ll most likely want to stop along the way at places like Tekapo and Lake Pukaki, so this drive is best as part of a road trip from Christchurch to Queenstown.
Wanaka to Mount Cook Village
Driving from Wanaka to Aoraki/Mount Cook takes 2 hours 30 minutes.
You can break up the trip at Lindis Pass, Omarama, Twizel (a good place to stop for groceries) and Lake Pukaki.
What is the best time of year to visit Aoraki/Mount Cook?
You can visit Aoraki Mount Cook National Park at any time of year, as the short walks are open all year round, but from November to April you’ll have the best chance of settled and warmer weather. During this time you might also see wildflowers like the rare Mt Cook lily.
The weather can change quickly at any time of year in Aoraki Mount Cook though, so make sure you pack warm layers.
If you’re on your way to Mount Cook Village and want to know what weather is awaiting you, you can take a peek at the weather web cams.
Thanks for reading this far! I hope I’ve convinced you to visit Aoraki Mount Cook National Park — it’s truly a highlight of any New Zealand trip.
If you’re planning on road tripping around the South Island, you might also find these articles useful:
AUTHOR BIO
I’m a freelance travel writer from New Zealand with bylines in National Geographic Travel, Conde Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure and more.
I’ve travelled up and down beautiful Aotearoa and I love sharing my recommendations for the best places to visit in New Zealand.
