One of New Zealand's most spectacular and most visited places, this south-western corner of the South Island is the World Heritage Area of Fiordland National Park.

Fiordland takes its name from the deep, glacier-carved fiords which cut into the richly forested landscape and with waterfalls cascading into them.

This wilderness area (1,2 million ha) features snow-topped mountains, peaceful lakes, virgin beech forest, spectacular fiords, glow-worm caves and rare wildlife.

Some of New Zealand's best examples of flora and fauna from the ancient super-continent of Gondwana are found here.

Human settlement in the area has always been limited by the steep terrain, isolation and wet climate, although early Maori hunted birds, fish and greenstone, and European sealers and whalers based themselves in the fiords.

Today, Fiordland is still a remote area with only one town of any real size, lakefront Te Anau.

The 121-km road to Milford Sound from Te Anau has earned World Heritage Highway status for its beauty and scenic variety. This includes lush lakeside forest, rugged mountains, cascading alpine rivers and picturesque walks.

Milford Sound is the most famous of the 14 fiords of Fiordland and has the most spectacular fiord scenery in New Zealand.

The long arm of the sound reaches 16 km inland from the sea with peaks rising dramatically out of the water to over 1500m. What makes Milford Sound even more remarkable is that the drop below water continues to depths of over 300m, though, at the entrance, the water depth is only 27m.

This beautiful forested fiord is surrounded by steep cliffs and mountains, with many waterfalls tumbling into the sea. Here reality exceeds expectation, no matter how many photographs of a pyramid-shaped Mitre Peak you have seen. The granite cliffs of Mitre Peak rise 1692 m out of the waters of Milford Sound. Rain rushes off the rock-faces in waterfalls, and the fiord mirrors the mountains above.

An annual rainfall of 5500mm feeds the waterfalls and makes them spectacular after heavy rain. The Bowen Falls plunge 165 m from a hanging valley into the sea while, further along sound towards the sea, the Stirling Falls drop 156 m.

The sound is home to a large seal population, the rare Fiordland crested penguin and Dusky and bottlenose dolphins, while underwater black coral grows just 10m below the surface.

Milford Sound draws thousands visitors each year to explore its beauty by cruising, kayaking, diving or walking.

The Milford Track (54km) has been described as the world's best walk and renowned for its glacial valleys, rainforest, mountain views, alpine flowers and waterfalls.