About Whakarewarewa The Living Village
Whakarewarewa is New Zealand's most iconic living Maori village, where the Tuhourangi Ngati Wahiao people have resided for over 200 years amidst active geothermal features including boiling pools, silica terraces, and steaming vents. Located just minutes from central Rotorua, it is the only place in the country where visitors can experience an authentic, continuously inhabited thermal village.
Guided tours are led by village residents who share stories of daily life, cultural practices, and the unique relationship between their community and the geothermal landscape. Highlights include traditional Maori cultural performances with haka and waiata, demonstrations of geothermal cooking (food cooked in natural hot pools), and walks past active geysers and boiling mud. Visitors can purchase corn cooked in thermal pools and browse locally made arts and crafts. Tours depart regularly throughout the day and last approximately one hour.
Whakarewarewa's authenticity is what sets it apart — this is not a reconstructed theme park but a real community that has adapted to living alongside extreme geothermal activity for generations. The guides are genuinely from the village, the stories are their own, and the cultural performances happen in the village's own meeting house. It is a must-visit for anyone wanting to understand Maori culture in its living context.
