The Tasman Glacier and Tasman Lake

6 min read Updated October 2026 Compare all tours

Tourism New Zealand gives the Tasman Glacier a length of around 27 km, which makes it the longest glacier in the country. DOC states that the glacier is retreating as the climate changes. Tasman Lake at its foot did not exist until 1974 and is growing quickly as the ice melts. NASA reported in 2008 that NIWA scientists had measured a retreat of 5 km over the previous three decades.

The road and the viewpoint walk

Tasman Valley Road is the second turn on the left after you leave the village, past the road to the Hooker Valley. It takes about ten minutes to drive to the Tasman Valley car park, which has picnic tables and a shelter. Cyclists can use an 8.5 km cycle track up the valley to the Blue Lakes car park.

From the car park the Tasman Glacier View Track climbs steeply, with more than 300 steps, to a lookout over the lake and the end of the glacier. DOC's track page gives 30 minutes return and its brochure 40 minutes. A side path leads in five minutes (500 m) to the first of the Blue Lakes. For a closer look at the water, the flat Tasman Lake Track takes 50 minutes to an hour return without any climbing.

Icebergs in summer, ice in winter

Icebergs can usually be seen floating on Tasman Lake in summer. In winter the lake freezes over. DOC's advice for the glacier lakes of the park applies here too: do not climb onto icebergs, as they are unstable and can tip unexpectedly, and the water is cold enough, at about 3 °C, to cause hypothermia quickly. Snow can close SH80 in winter, so check the highway before driving up from the lakes.

Among the icebergs by boat

To get onto the water you need Glacier Explorers, a boat trip run by the Hermitage hotel in the village, which calls it New Zealand's only glacier boat tour. You check in at the Activities Centre on the ground floor of the Hermitage 30 minutes before departure. A bus takes you to the Blue Lakes car park in the Tasman Valley, and from there you walk 1.5 km over the moraine to the jetty; the Hermitage expects guests to manage that in 25 minutes each way. Allow about three hours in all, roughly an hour of it on the lake between the icebergs, with a guide explaining the glacial landscape around you. Children must be at least 4.

The trip is not sold on the tour sites compared on this page, so you book it with the operator on the Glacier Explorers page of the Hermitage. The Mackenzie Region tourism office gives the season as September to June, with the start depending on when the lake ice breaks up. If the weather turns, the head guide cancels before departure and the fare is refunded.

Landing on the upper glacier

Several operators fly from Mount Cook Airport to the upper glacier and land there. On the ski plane flight, a nine-seat aircraft on skis flies past Aoraki and lands at the top of the Tasman Glacier, about 45 minutes in all. A combination flight goes up in one aircraft, lands on the upper Tasman Glacier and returns in the other, passing the Hochstetter Icefall, Tasman Lake and the Grand Plateau.

Southern Lakes Helicopters flies the full length of the glacier in 40 minutes and lands on the snow; the pilot may switch off the engine during the stop. Its 50-minute flight adds a circuit of the Aoraki summit and, on a clear day, views across to the West Coast. Glacier Helicopters checks you in at its base in the village for a 40-minute flight past the Hochstetter Icefall and the crevasses of the upper glacier to a landing with Aoraki in view.

Reviews of the landing flights come back to the same points: cancellations or shortened routes when the wind picks up, and the middle seat in the back row, which has the poorest view. Some operators ask for each passenger's weight when you book. All flights are listed on scenic flights.

Walking on the ice

Heli-hikes fly you onto the glacier and back with a guide. On the heli-hike with departures at 8:45 am or 10:45 am, a guide cuts steps for you and you spend up to two hours on the ice. Boots, wool socks, crampons, a pole and a waterproof jacket are provided, and the minimum age is 9. Several reviews call it more of a slow glacier walk than a hike, and one from June 2026 mentions a fuel surcharge paid on the day.

The Helicopter Line picks you up in the village for its heli-hike, which flies over the glacier lake, spends two hours on the ice in crampons and returns past the Hochstetter Icefall. The minimum age is 10, you need moderate fitness, and check-in, briefing and fitting take at least 45 minutes before take-off. Most of its one-star reviews are about weather cancellations. More detail is on Tasman Glacier heli-hikes.

Two valleys in one day

The Tasman viewpoint and the Hooker Valley fit into a single day. The viewpoint track takes 30 to 40 minutes return and the Hooker Valley Track about three hours, so with the drives between the car parks you need roughly half a day of walking. The day shuttle from Tekapo visits them in that order too, Tasman first. On a bike, the 8.5 km cycle track up the Tasman Valley and the 2 km track to White Horse Hill link both trailheads with the village, but bikes are not allowed on the walking tracks themselves.

Without a car

The day shuttle from Lake Tekapo stops at the Tasman Valley car park at about 10:15 am, with time for either the viewpoint track or the Tasman River Track, before it moves on to the Hooker Valley Track.