Rated Tourist Attractions in Rotorua

One of the most popular adventures in Rotorua, Kaituna River White Water Rafting is a must-do when visiting this area of outstanding natural beauty.

Fans of The Lord of the Rings trilogy and Hobbit films will want to make a beeline to the small town of Matamata for a pilgrimage to the film set of Hobbiton. The entire village created for the movies directed by Peter Jackson is set on the private Alexander Farm. It has been faithfully preserved by the owners, who now guide tours to the site for movie buffs seeking to revel in a slice of Middle-Earth.

The Waitomo Glowworm Caves are one of New Zealand's most popular sights, and for good reason. This deep limestone cave system, littered with huge stalactites, is home to hundreds of thousands of glowworms (Arachnocampa Luminosa) who illuminate the rock ceilings and walls in a spectacular display of twinkling, tiny spotlights. Boat tours (every half hour) head 250 meters into the subterranean passages of these cathedral-like caverns to witness the phenomenon.

Set amid 50 acres of steaming, boiling geothermal activity-and boasting the Southern Hemisphere's hottest waterfall and some of the most active and violently bubbling hot mud you'll ever see-Hells Gate Geothermal Park certainly lives up to its name.

Home to Rotorua's Pohutu Geyser, Te Puia has plenty of geothermal marvels to explore. Located on the outskirts of the town center, Pohutu Geyser is the Southern Hemisphere's largest geyser and sprays water up to 30 meters in the air in eruptions that can last for days on end (one eruption lasted for 250 days). However, these days, eruptions are more likely to last a few minutes.

Amid the steam vents and hot pools of the Whakarewarewa geothermal area of Rotorua is the Maori village of Whakarewarewa. Here, the Tuhourangi/Ngati Wahiao tribes welcome visitors to experience the culture and heritage of the Maori people.

More geothermal oddities await at Wai-O-Tapu, home to the Lady Knox geyser, which erupts at 10.15am every morning with water shooting up to 20 meters in the air. This colorful area brims with volcanic activity, with bubbling mud pools formed by a collapsed mud-volcano, water pools tinted fluorescent green, and steaming terraces in shades of bright yellow and lurid orange all creating a surreal and otherworldly landscape.

Established in 1852 by a Christian missionary, Te Wairoa was envisioned as a model Maori village, which could also cater to the many foreign visitors arriving to see the famed pink and white terraces nearby. The village, though, was to have a short history. On June 10, 1886, Mount Tarawera erupted followed by Lake Rotomahana exploding, covering Te Wairoa with a layer of mud up to two meters thick.

Amid the tranquil Government Gardens, which lie on the shores of Lake Rotorua, is the ornate Tudor-style Old Bath House building that now contains the Rotorua Museum. Inside, a series of permanent exhibitions tell the story of Rotorua's cultural history, from its pre-European era to the present.

Rotorua is the heart of New Zealand's geothermal attractions, and Waimangu Volcanic Valley is one of the most popular places to see the seething mud and steaming silica terraces. A series of walkways allow visitors to view the smoke-filled craters and bizarre acid-yellow and lime-green terraces safely. The inferno crater is a highlight, with its huge geyser billowing into action.