Viewpoint · Upper Ruapehu & Whakapapa Ski Area

Sky Waka & Knoll Ridge

A gondola ride from 1,630 m to 2,020 m over lava gullies to New Zealand’s highest café.

The Sky Waka gondola lifts you 390 vertical metres in twelve minutes over the Waterfall gullies and the Knoll Ridge lava formations. From the Knoll Ridge Chalet terrace the view spans the Pinnacles, the Whakapapa glacier basin and the whole volcanic plateau. It runs in winter for skiing and in summer (roughly late December to April) for sightseeing, weather permitting.

❄ Snow is almost certain here from June to October and often persists through November.