Must see attractions in The Marquesas

Iipona is one of the best-preserved archaeological sites in French Polynesia. You’ll be moved by its eeriness and impressed by the five monumental tiki –…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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 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…

A must-see for Gauguin and Brel devotees is the Calvaire Cemetery, perched on a hill overlooking Atuona. You will find this frangipani-filled graveyard an…

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…

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,…

Thousands of kaveka (sooty terns) nest year-round on these islets and lay thousands of eggs daily.

Hapatoni curves around a wide bay and is accessible by boat in less than 15 minutes from Vaitahu, or by a track.

Experts believe that the first Polynesian settlement on the Marquesas was here, tucked away in a bay protected on the east by the impressive Motu Hane…

Built for the 2013 Mini Marquesas Festival, this beautiful site holds a large performance area and the island's main museum. The Marquesas's largest tiki,…

Most tours stop in Taipivai to visit the Paeke archaeological site, which lies on a hillside at the exit of the village on the way to Hatiheu (the path…

Anyone with an interest in ancient Marquesan civilisation shouldn’t leave Atuona without a visit to the Tehueto petroglyphs. You’ll find a massive rock…

In Hanapaaoa, ask a local to take you to the Tiki Moe One, hidden on a hillside. One of the quirkiest statues in the Marquesas, it features a carved crown…

Tiny and scenic Hokatu, about 3km east of Hane, lies in a sheltered bay edged with a pebble beach pounded by azure seas with direct views of imposing,…

A homage to Gauguin that traces the artist's life through locally painted reproductions of his art. The main signs are translated into English but the…

On the property of the restaurant Pehekua – Chez Marie-Antoinette, shortly before the Iipona site, is a small graveyard with the tomb of the valley’s last…