Lake Tekapo
Good to know
- Best time to go
- Year-round; spring for lupins; winter for dark skies
- Budget
- $$
- Accessibility
- wheelchair-accessible
- Coordinates
- Open in maps
A high-country lake in the Mackenzie Basin fed by glacial melt, Lake Tekapo is notable for its intense turquoise colour produced by rock flour suspended in the water. The Church of the Good Shepherd, a small stone church on the eastern shore, is photographed against the lake and Mount John in the background. The basin sits within the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve, one of the largest certified dark sky reserves on Earth.
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