The Marquesas

Kamuihei, Tahakia & Teiipoka

Nuku Hiva

About 300m towards Taipivai from the Hikokua site, these three connecting sites make up the largest excavated archaeological area of Nuku Hiva. A team led…

Tohua Koueva

Nuku Hiva

It’s believed that this extensive communal site, with its paved esplanade, belonged to the war chief Pakoko, who was killed by the French in 1845. Today…

Hanahevane Bay

The Marquesas

This glorious bay is caressed by jade-green waters and is studded with a broad strand of golden sand. It’s a good picnic spot (despite a number of pesky…

Hikokua

Nuku Hiva

One of the most powerful archaeological sites in the Marquesas, Hikokua was discovered by the archaeologist Robert Suggs in 1957 and has been restored and…

Vaitahu

The Marquesas

This tiny village, built against the steep slopes of the central ridge, retains a few vestiges of its stormy past. On the seafront stands a modest…

Hanavave

The Marquesas

Hanavave boasts a splendid setting, at the mouth of a steep-sided valley, best enjoyed from the sea (lucky yachties!). When the setting sun bounces purple…

Omoa

The Marquesas

Time moves at a crawl in Omoa. The most striking monument is the Catholic church, with its red roof, white facade and slender spire. It makes a colourful…

Meiaute

The Marquesas

High up in the valley of Hane, the site of Meiaute includes three 1m-high, red-tuff tiki that watch over a group of stone structures, pae pae and me’ae,…