Glide over the ink-black waters and look up to the roof of the Waitomo Caves to see the twinkling glow worms. Take a walk through deep limestone chambers and listen for the eerie echo of the underground waterfalls. Experience the thrill of abseiling down to and tubing through the dark network of caves on a “black-water rafting” tour.
Waitomo Caves have been explored by tourists in New Zealand for over a hundred years. Most visits involve the Ruakuri, the Aranui and the Glowworm Caves, but there are about 300 similar underground limestone formations in the area.
Just behind the visitor centre is the entrance to the Glowworm Cave. A 45-minute tour leads you deep into The Cathedral, so named for its near-perfect acoustic quality. A boat waits for you towards the back of the cave and will carry you into a smaller, darker area, which is lit up by the neon lights of thousands of glowworms.
If you want to visit the other caves, be prepared to walk west for an hour or to arrange other transport at the visitor centre. Aranui cave is dry, and therefore void of glowworms. It has Gothic-like rock formations and a colony of native insects, the cave “weta”. Head to Ruakuri cave to take the two-hour underground tour, which begins at the spectacular spiral staircase and takes you for 1.6 kilometres (1 mile) past gushing waterfalls, vast caverns and further enclaves of glowworms.
Adrenalin junkies can book in for one of the adventure tours on offer. You can abseil down dark tunnels, climb along narrow ledges, ride a raft down the rapids and swim through rivers. Ask the staff in the visitor centre for more details or book ahead on the website. The visitor centre has a café, exhibitions and a short film about the region.
The Waitomo Caves, a one-hour drive south of Hamilton, are open daily. Tours run regularly. If you plan to visit more than one cave, purchase a “Cave Combo” ticket from the visitor centre to receive a discount.
Waitomo Caves Travel Guide
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Popular places to visit
Waitomo Glowworm Caves
Commune with nature and explore the great outdoors at Waitomo Glowworm Caves during your travels in Waitomo Caves. While in this quaint area, you can savour the top-notch restaurants.
Woodlyn Park
Explore the great outdoors at Woodlyn Park, a lovely green space in Waitomo Caves. While in this quaint area, you can savour the top-notch restaurants.
Aranui Cave
Explore the great outdoors at Aranui Cave, a lovely green space in Waitomo Caves. While in this quaint area, you can savour the top-notch restaurants.
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Reviews of Waitomo Caves
5/5 - Excellent
There are plenty of places to see glow worms in NZ but the opportunity of visiting the caves and seeing the glow worms by boat was a wonderful experience.
4/5 - Good
Great trip to the Glowworm caves. Need to choice the experience you go on carefully
4/5 - Good
Well worth doing the glow worm cave tour. Huhu restaurant was very good.
4/5 - Good
Shame no photos were allowed, even without flash.