The Inland Track is the quiet alternative to the famous Coast Track — 38 kilometres through the granite-and-bush interior of the park, with a fraction of the visitors. The route runs roughly parallel to the coast through Wainui Saddle, Castle Rocks, and the Pigeon Saddle, typically walked over three days using the Castle Rocks, Awapoto, and Whariwharangi huts.
This is a tougher, more remote walk than the coast. Tracks are rougher, there are real climbs, the huts are basic (none of the Great Walk amenities), and you see almost no-one. The pay-off is the karst landscape around Castle Rocks — limestone outcrops, sinkholes, and bush you would never reach from the beach. A combined Inland and Coast Track loop is a good four- or five-day trip for confident trampers.