What Are the Tūpuna Maunga and Why Do They Matter?
The tūpuna maunga are Auckland's ancestral volcanic cones, sacred to mana whenua as the resting places and living presence of ancestors. They are taonga of deep cultural and spiritual significance, not just scenic hills, and are co-governed to protect them.
What does tūpuna maunga mean?
Tūpuna means ancestors and maunga means mountains, so tūpuna maunga are ancestral mountains. For mana whenua, the iwi and hapū with ancestral ties to Tāmaki Makaurau, the maunga are far more than landforms. They are tūpuna in their own right, connected to whakapapa and history, and they hold the stories, urupā and pā of generations who lived on and around them.
Why do they matter?
They carry centuries of history and identity. Many of the cones were major pā, with terraces, food storage pits and defensive ditches still visible in the slopes. They were cultivated for kūmara in the rich volcanic soil and fought over for their strategic value. To walk a maunga is to walk through a living record of Māori settlement of the isthmus, which is why they are treated as treasured ancestors rather than parks.
Who looks after the maunga today?
Fourteen of Auckland's tūpuna maunga are co-governed by the Tūpuna Maunga o Tāmaki Makaurau Authority, a partnership between mana whenua and Auckland Council established through Treaty settlement. The Authority makes decisions about how the maunga are cared for and used. One visible result is the closing of vehicle access to several summits, including Maungawhau (Mount Eden), to protect the maunga from wear.
How should visitors treat the maunga?
With care and respect. Stay on the formed tracks and paths rather than cutting across terraces or crater rims, which are fragile and culturally significant. Do not picnic on or disturb archaeological features. Take rubbish with you. Treat the climb as you would a visit to any place of importance to someone else, because that is exactly what it is. Reading the interpretation signs is a good way to understand what you are standing on.
Understand the maunga you're standing on
Volcanic AKL includes the history and significance of the tūpuna maunga alongside the walking routes, so you know the stories behind each cone. Works offline.
Explore Volcanic AKLRelated: Best volcanic cones to walk in Auckland.