Photo by W. Bulach, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
🇳🇿 New Zealand · Tikitere, Rotorua, North Island
Photo by W. Bulach, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
🇳🇿 New Zealand · Tikitere, Rotorua, North Island
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📅 Established
1871
✓ Verified on 2026-07-28
Hell's Gate (Māori name Tikitere) is part of a 10 km² geothermal field that formed around 10,000 years ago and sits unusually close to the surface, with heat flow of 120 MW. Pool temperatures across the reserve range from about 40°C at Kakahi Falls up to over 100°C at features like the Inferno Pools, with acidity reaching pH 1–2 in the most extreme pools. Local Māori of Ngāti Rangiteaorere, who have lived here for over 700 years and remain the owners, have used the sulphurous mud and mineral water for healing for centuries; a destination spa has operated at the site since 1871.
Ngāti Rangiteaorere have inhabited and owned this land for over 700 years. The name Tikitere derives from a legend of a Māori princess, Hurutini, who drowned in a hot pool; her mother's lament 'Aue teri nei tiki' ('here lies my precious one') gave the area its name. A destination spa using the sulphurous waters operated here from 1871. In 1934, Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw visited and likened the geothermal features to hell, prompting the Māori owners to adopt 'Hell's Gate' as the site's English name.
The healing properties of the geothermal mud and sulphur mineral water have reportedly been used by local Māori for over 800 years, per the current operator.
Phone+64 7 345 3151
Websitewww.hellsgate.co.nz/
Address351 State Highway 30, Tikitere, Rotorua, New Zealand