Last updated October 2026
Korito is a rural locality in the New Plymouth District, on the rising country inland from the city and below Taranaki Maunga. It is not a township. Houses and farm buildings sit along quiet roads such as Kent Road, Korito Road and Maude Road, among pasture, shelter belts and pockets of bush, with no village centre of its own.
Toitū Te Whenua records Korito as a locality, a settled place that is not classed as a town. Kent Road, cut through forest in the nineteenth century, still climbs toward the mountain and links with Maude Road under the Pouakai Range.
People come for the rural quiet, the edge of Lake Māngamāhoe, and the long view of the maunga, not for a main street.
Practical Information
- Getting there
- Rural roads, including Kent Road, Korito Road and Maude Road. Kent Road starts near Lake Māngamāhoe and winds toward Taranaki Maunga, linking with Maude Road. A regular bus service has not been confirmed.
- Nearby landmarks
- Mangorei War Memorial Hall at the corner of Kent Road; Lake Māngamāhoe, opposite the hall; the Pouakai Range and Maude Peak above Maude Road.
About Korito
Korito is open farmland and lifestyle country on the inland side of New Plymouth, where the coastal plain begins to lift toward the mountain.
The roads are sealed but narrow in places, and the landscape is still shaped by farming: paddocks, shelter plantings, and remnants of the bush that once covered this side of the district. There is no local shopping strip and no verified school in the locality. Daily life points back to the wider district for shops, schools and services.
The name Korito is the official locality name held by Toitū Te Whenua. A meaning for this particular place name was not confirmed in the council and heritage sources checked, so it is best not to treat a dictionary sense of the word as the story of the settlement.
The wider New Plymouth District has a long Māori history, but these sources do not tie Korito to a single marae or iwi account.
European settlement here followed the bush-road era. In 1862 the Public Works Board reported that settlers had taken up land on a new line of road in the forest, named Kent Road, in the Hua and Waiwakaiho district.
The road was not finished until 1872, after the Taranaki Provincial Council took a small piece of land from Alan Marsh. Maude Road, which Kent Road eventually meets, was being opened as a bush road at about the same time, under the Pouakai Range.
Today the locality is still rural. New Plymouth District Council consent papers for a property at 373 Maude Road, Korito, place that land in the Rural Production Zone, and describe large farm titles with a small number of dwellings. That pattern, farms and a scattering of houses rather than a street of shops, is what visitors should expect.
The Mangorei War Memorial Hall at the Kent Road corner is the clearest public building, standing opposite the entrance to Lake Māngamāhoe.
Getting Around
Kent Road is the best-known approach. It leaves the Lake Māngamāhoe area and climbs toward the maunga before linking with Maude Road. Korito Road is another named local road, listed among the district’s rural roads and used in property addresses.
Scout Road is a short no-exit road off Kent Road. These are working rural roads, so allow for farm vehicles, stock and wet-weather care.
Do not stop on Kent Road to photograph the mountain. People standing or sitting on the double yellow lines at a hill brow became common enough that residents feared a serious crash.
New Plymouth District Council has since prohibited parking on both sides of Kent Road from 1,495 metres to 1,795 metres in a southerly direction from the start of the road, with no-stopping signs and yellow lines. Use a safe, legal place if you want a view, and keep the carriageway clear.
History and Heritage
Puke Ariki’s road histories are the clearest published record of how this locality was opened. Kent Road was likely named for the English county of Kent. Maude Road, and Maude Peak above it, take their name from Princess Maud, later Queen of Norway. The extra letter in the local spelling is part of that story.
A Taranaki Herald note from about 1871 recorded half a mile of Maude Road among newly opened bush roads. In December 1889 fire ran across farmland on the road for a day, destroying feed and fencing but not dwellings. By 1897 cleared land on the road was being advertised for sale, with shelter bush left standing.
Scout Road shows how slowly some of these lines were finished. It appears on survey plans from the 1870s and was once expected to cross the Mangorei Stream and join Mangorei Road. That link was never built.
Taranaki County Council named it in 1961 after local farmer Raymond Hector Morgan offered three options. Scout Road won because boy scout camps had been held at the end of the road. The other suggestions were Herbert Road, after early landowners, and Bachelors’ Lane.
The Mangorei War Memorial Hall marks the Kent Road corner. It is a community building rather than a visitor centre, and a useful landmark when you are finding the turn toward the mountain and the lake entrance opposite.
Getting Outdoors
Korito is a place you pass through or live in, not a reserve with its own track network. The outdoors interest sits on its edges. Lake Māngamāhoe is the main stop, with the hall opposite the entrance.
Forest around the lake, including the pine country of Busing Forest, now holds a network of mountain bike trails where scout camps once used the Mangorei Stream end of Scout Road. From the higher roads, Taranaki Maunga and the Pouakai Range dominate the view. Stay off the carriageway while you look.
Where to Learn More
Puke Ariki: Kent Road (Korito): Road history, the hall, and the parking restriction on the mountain photo spot.
Puke Ariki: Maude Road: How Maude Road and Maude Peak were named, and the early bush-farming years.
New Plymouth District Council: District roads, planning and council services for rural localities including Korito.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Korito a suburb of New Plymouth?
No. Korito is a rural locality in the New Plymouth District, inland from the city. It has farms and houses along country roads, not a town centre.
How do you get to Korito?
Drive. Kent Road leaves the Lake Māngamāhoe area and links with Maude Road toward the mountain. Korito Road is another local road. A regular bus service has not been confirmed.
Is there a shop or school in Korito?
No local shopping centre or school was confirmed in the locality. Shopping and schooling are in the wider New Plymouth District.
What is the Mangorei War Memorial Hall?
It is a community hall at the corner of Kent Road in Korito, opposite the entrance to Lake Māngamāhoe. It is the clearest landmark when you are finding the area.
Can I stop on Kent Road to photograph Taranaki Maunga?
Do not stop on the road. Parking is prohibited on both sides of a signed stretch, from 1,495 metres to 1,795 metres south of the start of Kent Road, after people used the centre lines as a photo spot.
What is there to do outdoors?
Lake Māngamāhoe is the main nearby stop. Mountain bike trails run through forest around the lake, including Busing Forest. Higher roads look toward Taranaki Maunga and the Pouakai Range.
What does the name Korito mean?
A meaning for this place name was not confirmed in the council and heritage sources checked. Toitū Te Whenua records it as a locality in Taranaki.
Who maintains the roads?
New Plymouth District Council looks after local roads in the district. Kent Road, Korito Road and Maude Road are rural roads with a long history of farm use, so expect farm traffic.
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