Lake Tekapo Airport is located 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) west of the town where local tourism operator Air Safaris is based.

The name Tekapo, a misspelling of Takapō, derived from the te reo Māori words taka (sleeping mat) and pō (night).

In 1857, John and Barbara Hay established the first sheep farm in Mackenzie on the shore of Lake Tekapo.

Visitor numbers increased in the 1960s with skiers and ice skaters visiting in winter months.

[16][17][18] Selected for its very clear atmosphere, large number of clear sky nights, and relative freedom from light pollution, Mount John University Observatory is located on a small hill to the north of the town, and south of the small Lake Alexandrina.

[19][20] The Dark-Sky Project runs star gazing tours from their award winning[21] observatory building on the foreshore of Lake Tekapo.

The Dark Sky Project is jointly owned by founders Hide Ozawa and Graeme Murray, and Ngāi Tahu iwi.

[25] Close to the Church of the Good Shepherd is a well-known bronze statue of a New Zealand Collie sheepdog.

The statue was commissioned by Mackenzie Country residents in recognition of the indispensable role of the sheepdog in their livelihoods.

The sculptor was Innes Elliott of Kaikōura, with a dog called Haig, belonging to a neighbour, being the model.

[26] Tekapo Hot Springs is a tourist attraction located to the north-west of the township, at the base of Mount John.

[28] Lake Tekapo Regional Park is a recreation area of 165 hectares (410 acres) located to the east of the township.

Access to the park is by foot or bicycle from the Lake Tekapo township or by car from Lilybank Road.

The New Zealand Army has a small training base located 6 km (3.7 mi) to the west of the Tekapo township.

Improvements would include accommodation upgrades, communications, security fencing, extensions to heavy and light vehicle tracks and a new main camp gate.

[33] An unformed road that runs alongside the Tekapo Military base was sold by the Mackenzie District Council to the New Zealand Defence Force in 2021 for $1 in order to address safety concerns of the public getting too close to military training activities such as live firing of weapons.

[35] The MacKenzie District Council is responsible for providing local government services to Lake Tekapo.