Rainbow Pass from Upper Travers Hut

Rainbow Pass from Upper Travers Hut is a roughly 6 km out-and-back via Poukirikiri/Travers Saddle and Travers Tarn, returning by the same line. The mapped corridor is about 3.0 km one way (6.1 km for the return); another listing gives 6.8 km, so expect some variation on the unmarked section. Allow about five to six hours. The pass is near 1,946 m and the route gains roughly 640 m. This is a high-country side trip for people already on the multi-day Travers-Sabine Circuit, not a day hike from a road.

From the hut clearing, follow the track to the fixed bridge across the Travers River, then climb the poled route through rock and tussock to Travers Saddle. This marked approach is about 2 km and takes a little over an hour in the route guide's estimate. The track climbs beneath Mount Travers's steep south face before opening onto the saddle, where the views reach across the Travers Valley.

Beyond Travers Saddle the line is unmarked, though described as clear: cross the shallow saddle, skirt Travers Tarn, and pick a route over boulders toward the right side of the pass. The last climb gets very steep. On a clear day, the tarns can reflect Mount Travers. The return hike stops on the northwest side of Rainbow Pass; turn around there and retrace your steps. The steep southeast descent toward Rainbow Valley is a separate route, with unstable bluffs and rockfall scree.

Upper Travers Hut is a 24-bunk hut and must be booked. Reaching it is part of the 4–7-day Travers-Sabine Circuit, so this is a remote half-day addition to a multi-day trip. Hut water is untreated; the hut has toilets, and no facilities are confirmed along the side route. Dogs are not allowed in the park. Travers Saddle can be freezing at any time of year, with snow, ice and high avalanche risk in winter. The unmarked final kilometre and steep boulder slope call for confident route-finding and alpine experience.