Epic Travel → Asia & the South Pacific → New Zealand → Canterbury → Devil’s Punchbowl Falls

Location: Arthur’s Pass area, Canterbury, New Zealand

Time Required: 30 minutes – 1 hour

Distance: 2 km/1.4 miles (roundtrip)

Elevation Gain: 90 m/295 feet

Red Tape/Notes: None.

What’s Nearby?: Arthur’s Pass, Cave Stream, Castle Hill

After falling asleep to the sound of rain in Arthur’s Pass, we woke up to snow. We thought about skipping this hike, but since we were skipping everything else we had planned to do here, we felt like we should do something. The visibility was poor, with low clouds obscuring the early views of the waterfall you normally have on the hike in (we did have something of a view looking back by the time we left), but it was still worth the short 2km trip. On sunny days, this is an area classic, with a well-maintained trail (lots of stairs), leading to a lookout of the awesome 131m waterfall. A footpath leads to the waterfall pool for people who really love jumping into freezing cold water. The best light is in the afternoon, so if you have a choice, do something else in the morning.

Epic Travel → Asia & the South Pacific → New Zealand → Canterbury → Devil’s Punchbowl Falls