10 Adventure Landmarks in Queenstown
10 landmarks with verified facts and stories
Ben Lomond Track
Ben Lomond, Queenstown, New Zealand
The Ben Lomond Track is Queenstown's classic day hike — an 11-kilometre return track that climbs from the top of the Skyline Gondola at 450 metres to the 1,748-metre summit of Ben Lomond, via a saddle at 1,326 metres and a final scramble up rocky ridge terrain.
Coronet Peak Ski Field
Coronet Peak Rd, Coronet Peak, Queenstown, 9371, New Zealand
Coronet Peak is Queenstown's oldest ski field — opened in 1947 as New Zealand's first commercial ski field, and still regarded as one of the best in the country for its combination of reliable snow, well-groomed intermediate terrain, and the novelty of night skiing (Wednesday-Friday in the main season, with floodlit runs and an apres-ski atmosphere).
Kawarau Bungy Bridge
Gibbston Hwy, Gibbston, Queenstown, 9371, New Zealand
The Kawarau Bridge is the birthplace of commercial bungy jumping — where AJ Hackett and Henry van Asch opened the world's first commercial bungy operation on 12 November 1988, charging NZ$75 for a 43-metre jump off a 1880s-era suspension bridge over the Kawarau River.
Nevis Highwire Bungy
Gibbston, Queenstown, New Zealand
The Nevis Highwire Bungy is the biggest bungy jump in New Zealand and one of the highest in the world — a 134-metre leap from a suspended steel pod in the middle of the Nevis Valley, 40 kilometres south of Queenstown on 4WD-accessed private land.
Paragliding from Coronet Peak
Coronet Peak Rd, Coronet Peak, Queenstown, 9371, New Zealand
Tandem paragliding from Coronet Peak is Queenstown's most visually spectacular adventure activity — a 15-25 minute gliding flight from the 1,650-metre summit of Coronet Peak (winter) or the nearby launch sites (summer) down to the Wakatipu basin, with the Remarkables and Lake Wakatipu filling the entire panorama.
Queenstown Trail (Cycling)
Queenstown, New Zealand
The Queenstown Trail is a 130-kilometre network of dedicated cycle paths connecting Queenstown, Arrowtown, Gibbston Valley, and Jack's Point — completed in 2012 and now one of New Zealand's 22 Great Rides.
Routeburn Track
Queenstown, New Zealand
The Routeburn Track is one of New Zealand's 10 Great Walks — a 32-kilometre, three-day tramping route that crosses the Southern Alps from the Routeburn Shelter near Glenorchy to The Divide near Milford Sound.
Shotover Canyon Swing
35 Shotover Street, Queenstown
The Shotover Canyon Swing is a 109-metre cliff jump followed by a 200-metre arcing swing through the Shotover River canyon — the world's highest cliff swing when it opened in 2005 and still one of the most intense rope-based adrenaline activities in the country.
Shotover Jet
Gorge Road, Arthur's Point
Shotover Jet is the world's most famous jet boat ride — a 25-minute high-speed run through the narrow, red-rock Shotover River canyon at Arthur's Point just outside Queenstown, pioneered in 1970 by the Maori-owned Ngāi Tahu Tourism.
The Remarkables
Queenstown, New Zealand
The Remarkables are the dramatic jagged mountain range that frames the eastern side of Queenstown — a 22-kilometre ridge whose highest peak, Double Cone, reaches 2,324 metres and whose name was coined by European surveyor Alexander Garvie because the range is one of the few on Earth that runs exactly north-south.
Explore adventure in Queenstown
GPS-guided narration at every landmark. Tap a spot on the map, hear the story. Every fact verified.