#6 of 18 sights in Mount Aspiring
Sight · Mount Aspiring National Park
A 9.8 km walk to a cascade at the bushline.
Overview
Routeburn Falls is a multi-step cascade beside Routeburn Falls Hut, where the Routeburn Track reaches the bushline in Mount Aspiring National Park. Start at Routeburn Shelter, 25 km from Glenorchy on a partly unsealed road. The cascade is a 9.8 km walk from there; the estimate to the hut beside it is 2.5 to 4 hours one way. Go if you want a full-day out-and-back or an overnight Routeburn trip. It’s a long approach for a waterfall alone, so skip it if you’re looking for a quick stop.
Parkwolf’s verdictIs it worth the walk?Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Mount Aspiring Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Mount Aspiring National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Mount Aspiring audio tourRecorded for this place
Routeburn Shelter: Choose Your Walk“You're coming up on Routeburn Shelter, where you can explore without tackling the full Great Walk. For a short stop, choose the Nature Walk, a forest-and-river loop taking forty minutes to an hour.”
Plays as you drive up to Routeburn Falls in the Parkwolf Mount Aspiring Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
The track follows the Route Burn, passes Sugarloaf Stream and Bridal Veil Waterfall, crosses a swing bridge, then opens onto Routeburn Flats before climbing through beech forest. By the time you reach Falls Hut, you’ve walked from the valley into the bushline, with views toward the Humboldt Mountains. That varied walk is part of the payoff, not just the way to the falls.
The cascade tumbles over several rock ledges near the lower end of the Routeburn Left Branch. The Routeburn Left Branch descends more than 700 m from Lake Harris to the valley, with the named falls near its lower end; that’s the branch’s total descent, not a verified height for this cascade. For a photo, include some of the rock shelves around the water—the successive ledges are what make the falls read as a cascade.
Routeburn Falls Hut sits next to the cascade and is a separate overnight destination with 48 bunks. Overnight stays need a booking in Great Walk season. There’s no food for sale on the Routeburn Track, and hut water is untreated, so carry your meals and treat water.
Wildlife
60 sightingsKeaMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
112 sightingsRockwrenMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
26 sightingsYellowheadMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
13 sightingsTūīMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
27 sightingsBellbirdMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
35 sightingsRiflemanMost seen around 8 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Mount Aspiring. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ModerateConical Hill Track2 km · 1.8 hr · 2.3 km awayA short, steep climb from Harris Saddle to an alpine panorama.
ChallengingRouteburn Track33.1 km · 13.5 hr · 6.3 km awayWaterfalls, alpine wetlands and a 1,255 m pass in one crossing.
ModerateRouteburn Falls Hut Day Walk19.6 km · 7 hr · 6.3 km awayTwo waterfalls and a high hut make the long climb worthwhile.
ChallengingTarahaka Whakatipu (Harris Saddle)25.4 km · 10.5 hr · 6.3 km awayA long alpine day ends at a shelter above Lake Harris.
ModerateRouteburn Flats Track15 km · 4 hr · 6.3 km awayFollow an 1870s bridle path to open valley flats.
ChallengingSugarloaf Pass Track8 km · 6 hr · 6.3 km awayA hard climb to a broad pass above two valleys.
ChallengingRouteburn North Branch Track21.7 km · 8.5 hr · 6.3 km awayA long valley walk with rough tread and Humboldt mountain views.
ChallengingSugarloaf/Rockburn Track16.9 km · 9.5 hr · 6.3 km awayAn advanced full-day traverse over Sugarloaf Saddle to Lake Sylvan.
Lodging · 0.1 km awayRouteburn Falls HutSleep at the bushline with the falls close by.
Campground · 1.1 km awayRouteburn Flats CampsiteA 15-site walk-in camp on the Routeburn's open grassy flats.
Lodging · 1.3 km awayRouteburn Flats HutA good first night on the Routeburn, with the valley opening wide.
Sight · 1.8 km awayLake HarrisA wide lake view built into the Routeburn’s high alpine crossing.
Sight · 2.1 km awayHarris Saddle / Tarahaka WhakatipuA high pass above Lake Harris, with a climb toward sea views.
Sight · 4.7 km awayBridal Veil FallsA 57-metre fall framed by the Routeburn's forest and snowy peaks.Parkwolf’s Mount Aspiring ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
