Buried Village of Te Wairoa

1180 Tarawera Road, Rotorua 3076, New Zealand

64 7 362 8287

Website

31 visitor photos

Ranked #17 of 40 attractions in Rotorua

128 Reviews

Type: Historic Sites, History Museums

Fee: Yes

Owner description: A place of exceptional beauty has been created around the fascinating remains of a settlement buried by the eruption of Mount Tarawera. Today at the... more » Owner description: A place of exceptional beauty has been created around the fascinating remains of a settlement buried by the eruption of Mount Tarawera. Today at the Buried Village a world-class museum houses many precious objects dug from the ruins, guides in period costume escort groups though the excavated sites and the walk to the base of one of NZ’s most stunning waterfalls shouldn’t be missed. Buried Village is located fifteen minutes from Rotorua on the districts most scenic drive.

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128 reviews from our community

maurieandvanda

Ulmarra, Australia

Senior Reviewer

9 reviews

Reviews in 6 cities

3 helpful votes

“buried village”

Reviewed 28 May 2012 NEW

We originally saw this site 40 years ago and were impressed then. There has been a lot of re construction to preserve the exhibit as understanderbly timber rots away. The museum section was very informative and the waterfalls in the grounds were beautiful

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FlyingKiwi2012

Tauranga, New Zealand

Senior Reviewer

10 reviews

Reviews in 7 cities

1 helpful vote

“Facinating”

Reviewed 27 May 2012 NEW

I ended up here on a kids schools trip and at the end of the day was pleasantly surprised. There is an amazing history and story to this spot and it doesn't take too much imagining to recapture what it must have been like (prior to the eruption).

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Thank you for your review its is good to hear you enjoyed your visit. The Buried Village of Te Wairoa and the eruption of Mount Tarawera are a fascinating part of New Zealand's history and it is great to be able to share it with educational groups. We hope to see you again,. More

loveholidays52

Portsmouth, United Kingdom

Senior Reviewer

7 reviews

Reviews in 5 cities

4 helpful votes

“Very moving”

Reviewed 24 May 2012 NEW

We have now visited this attraction twice. The first time we were young and without kids, this time we brought the kids (aged 3 and 6). Both times have been just as good. The museum is very well thought out and you can really empathise with the tragedy that occurred when the village was buried by the volcano erupting. The... More

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Thank you for your review it is always good to hear from repeat visitors, and it is fantastic to hear that your whole family enjoyed the Buried Village experience this time around. We hope to have you all back again in the future. More

Shannon V

San Marcos, California, United States

Reviewer

3 reviews

Reviews in 2 cities

“Very Expensive for a museum”

Reviewed 6 May 2012

We were shocked on the price for this museum. You can tell that a lot was invested in making the museum visually stunning and you did learn a lot about the village. Once we were outside looking at the buildings that were excavated, we noticed that many trees were cut down. As we walked thru, we were very sad to... More

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Thank you for your feedback. Unfortunately we had to make the very difficult decision to remove the poplar trees due to safety reasons. The trees had become unsafe despite topping them in the past and over the last few months we had a numbers of incidents where branches fell from the trees causing damage, thankfully no-one was hurt. The difficult... More

PLR47

Taupo, New Zealand

Senior Reviewer

6 reviews

Reviews in 4 cities

1 helpful vote

“Personal guide made place come alive”

Reviewed 3 May 2012

We were lucky enough to visit early enough in the day to have a guide to ourselves. What an amazing place it must have been in the 1860's. Thank you for having so many historical facts to share and the way you told them. Well done. Will be back with grandchildren

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Thank you for your review it is appreciated. It is always nice to hear the visitors have enjoyed their time at the Buried Village. We look forward to having you back again with your grandchildren. More

royandangela

Tauranga

Contributor

19 reviews

Reviews in 15 cities

2 helpful votes

“Expensive for what it is”

Reviewed 3 May 2012

Rather disappointing when you get in, rather boring. Nice trout stream though with huge wild trout

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Thank you for your review. Sorry to hear that you were disappointed by your visit to the Buried Village. We take pride in providing a heritage attraction were visitors can learn about the eruption of Mount Tarawera and the devastating effect it had on the village of Te Wairoa and surrounding area. The Buried Village is privately owned and operated... More

Douglsb

Santa Cruz

2 reviews

Reviews in 2 cities

1 helpful vote

“Fascinating history in beautiful locale”

Reviewed 1 May 2012

We visited on a rainy day, which was fine for a rainforest(umbrellas provided). The exhibits inside were interesting and set the stage for the guided tour of the village. Our guide Lyn, a local woman of both European and Maori heritage, did an excellent job of making the history of the people who lived there and the events of the... More

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Thank you for your fantastic review it is appreciated - It great to hear the rain did not stop you form having an enjoyable visit .Lyn our guide manager is a fantastic guide and takes pride in sharing the stories of Te Wairoa and Mount Tarawera. We hope to have you back again. More

Sarah A

Rotorua, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand

Reviewer

4 reviews

“buried village”

Reviewed 25 April 2012

Really interesting and cool place to see, also very beautiful walks, i got some great pictures at the base of the waterfall.

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Hi Sarah, Thank you for your review it is appreciated. Glad to hear you found the information onsite interesting and the waterfall is absolutely stunning it is a fantastic backdrop for photos. Hope to have you back again soon. More

Jazzman205

Christchurch, New Zealand

Contributor

14 reviews

Reviews in 11 cities

5 helpful votes

“Interesting history about the pink and white terraces”

Reviewed 23 April 2012

I was completely unaware of the history of Rotorua's Pink and White terraces until i stumbled across this attraction. The history of the area is very interesting going to detail of the catastrophic event when MT Tarawera erupted showering thick mud all over the region covering not only the village but thousands of years of silica crystalisation at the Pink... More

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Hi Steve and Leanne, Thank you for your review it is appreciated - The History of Mount Tarawera and the surrounding area is fascinating. It is fantastic to hear that you enjoyed your time at the Buried Village where we were able to share the history of the area and Tarawera stories with the both of you. We hope to... More

DL A

Solihull, United Kingdom

Reviewer

4 reviews

“Beautiful place but sad history”

Reviewed 17 April 2012

Nice place for children to learn and experiecnce about volcanoes and their effect. Good place for a walk.

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Thank you for your review it is great to hear that you enjoyed the walk at the Buried Village and found the information educational. We hope to see you again. More