Arthur's Pass

Arthur's Pass National Park spans 1,185 square kilometers of dramatic alpine terrain in the heart of New Zealand's South Island, straddling the Canterbury and West Coast regions. Established in 1929 as New Zealand's third national park and the first in the South Island, the park encompasses some of the most spectacular mountain scenery in the country. The park takes its name from the historic pass discovered by Arthur Dobson in 1864, though Māori travelers had long used the route to transport pounamu (greenstone) across the Southern Alps. Today, Arthur's Pass serves as a vital corridor between east and west, traversed by both State Highway 73 and the scenic TranzAlpine railway, while offering visitors access to pristine wilderness, challenging alpine adventures, and diverse ecological zones ranging from beech forests to alpine meadows.