Ruatāhuna is a small town in the remote country of Te Urewera, in the northeast of New Zealand's North Island.

It is on the upper reaches of the Whakatāne River, and surrounded on three sides by the Te Urewera protected area, formerly the Te Urewera National Park.

The road that runs from Murupara through Ruatahuna to Āniwaniwa on Lake Waikaremoana, a large part of which is unsealed, used to be designated as part of State Highway 38.

[2] Ruatāhuna is within the rohe (tribal area) of Tūhoe, and has several marae affiliated with Tūhoe hapū:[3][4][5] In October 2020, the Government committed $3,996,258 from the Provincial Growth Fund to upgrade Kākānui, Mātaatua, Ōhāua, Pāpueru, Tātāhoata, Uwhiārae, Te Wai-iti marae, creating 79 jobs.

[6] Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Huiarau is a co-educational state Māori language immersion area school for Year 1 to 13 students,[7] with a roll of 79 as of November 2024.