Highlights include lava formations, mountain beech trees, native ferns, waterfalls, golden silica rapids and wonderful views of Mt Ngauruhoe and Mt Ruapehu.

The Silica Rapids walk is an easy 7km loop track that will take you around 2.5 hours return.

The track begins 250 metres above Whakapapa Visitor Centre in Whakapapa Village.

Through mountain beech forest, the track travels alongside a cascading stream, arriving at the creamy-white terraces of Silica Rapids. Subalpine plants, amid a mixture of swamp and tussock country, feature around the track as it returns to the Bruce Road 2.5 kilometres above the starting point. This highly varied walk reveals a range of vegetation types and also has spectacular views of Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe on a clear day.