The reserve is located in the Mackenzie District in the South Island of New Zealand.

[1][2] The area covered by the reserve includes the Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park and the Mackenzie Basin, Lake Pukaki and Lake Tekapo.

The main settlements within the reserve are Mount Cook Village, Twizel, and Lake Tekapo (town).

[3][4] The night sky brightness in the reserve ranks at a level 2 on the nine-level Bortle Dark-Sky Scale, representing a truly dark site with high astronomical observability of celestial objects.

[8] There are many stargazing tourism ventures in the region, including the well-known Dark Sky Project in the Lake Tekapo township, along with a variety of other local businesses offering stargazing and astrophotography experiences.