Outdoor Activities

Aranui Cave Guided Tour

Guided tour inside Aranui Cave, showcasing limestone formations and stalactites in Waitomo, New Zealand.

Guided tour exploring limestone formations inside Aranui Cave, Waitomo, New Zealand.

Aranui Cave stalactites and stalagmites during a guided tour in Waitomo, New Zealand.

Discover the hidden beauty of Aranui Cave, the smallest and most delicate of the Waitomo Caves set within a natural forest reserve on a 1-hour guided walking tour.

Highlights

Take a guided tour through the Ruakuri Scenic Reserve to see its magnificent cave, beautiful rock formations, and cave weta colonies.
Explore the Maori legends and myths of Aranui Cave with your guide and discover their anecdotes and secrets.
Get a glimpse of the long, narrow chambers of the Waitomo cave and the high chambers of the Aranui cave, as well as the white, pink, and brown stalactites that adorn this cave.
Take a stroll at the Ruakuri Scenic Reserve for scenic walks among the native wildlife and an enchanted forest.
Fun fact: The cave was discovered by a local Māori hunter chasing a wild pig. Ask your guide about this story - each guide has a slightly different version!

Inclusions

1-hour guided tour of Aranui Cave
English-speaking guide of Maori descent
Small group of up to 15 people
Photography allowed
Entry to Aranui Cave

cancellation policy

You can cancel these tickets up to 24 hours before the experience begins and get a full refund.

Reviews

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3.4

17 ratings

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Hannah

5/5

Jan, 2025

I love that the Aranui cave is a bit more intimate, and you can get up close to the fantastic stalactites and stalagmites. Mere our guide was friendly and knowledgeable.

Karen

5/5

Dec, 2024

Our 1pm guide was very friendly and informative. All photos of our whanau in it will be for our private viewing only. Thank you until next time

Gianfranco

5/5

Nov, 2024

Lovely! I will be back 💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪

Marie

4/5

Mar, 2024

We actually wanted to see the glow-worm cave but the only cave that came up on your booking site on my phone was for the Aranui cave and unknowingly I booked this tour the night prior . We were travelling with an overseas tourist and she especially wanted to see the glow-worms. We were told on arrival of my mistake and that unfortunately the glow-worm cave tours were booked out for the rest of the day. We did however enjoy our tour of the Aranui cave, our guide obliged us by singing a waiata inside the cave which all the overseas guests really appreciated. He was very knowledgeable and helpful.

Elena

3/5

Mar, 2024

The guide was very friendly and did a good job, however it was very expensive for the amount of time we were there. The tour was not as long as mentioned, therefore we felt overcharged.

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Your experience

Why visit Aranui Cave

A magical, mystical place steeped in Maori legend and myth, Aranui Cave is a truly remarkable sight. This previously hidden gem was discovered by a local Maori man in 1910, Ruruku Aranui. Explore Aranui Cave by taking a scenic stroll through an enchanted forest at Ruakuri Scenic Reserve, 5 minutes from the visitor center. The only life inside Aranui Cave is a colony of native New Zealand cave wetas found just inside the cave's natural entrance. The cave has no river running through it.

What to expect

Enter the cave and explore the exquisite interior decorations. The best cave formations are found in Waitomo's narrow chambers, which can only be reached on safe boardwalks. There is nothing quite like the Aranui cave's high chambers, majestic limestone formations, and huge stalactites in shades of brown, pink, and white. This cave system boasts delicate, sparkling forms in pale brown, pink, and white around almost every corner.

Know before you go

What to bring

When you visit, make sure you've got a credit card or your phone set up for contactless payments (like Apple Pay or Google Pay).

Accessibility

This experience is not wheelchair accessible.

Additional information

Photography and video are permitted inside the cave.
It's recommended to wear a warm jacket along with comfortable shoes as this experience involves a fair amount of walking.
This tour is accessible to those with reasonable mobility.
The experience is not accessible for wheelchair users.

My tickets

Your voucher will be emailed to you shortly.
Display the voucher on your mobile phone with a valid photo ID at the meeting point.
Please arrive at the meeting point 15 minutes before the scheduled time of your visit to avoid any delays.