Maupiti

Maupiti is what the high islands of the Society group look like when they are left small and quiet. The westernmost volcanic island of the archipelago, about 40 kilometres west of Bora Bora and some 315 kilometres from Tahiti, it consists of a dark, steep-sided central island rising to 372 metres at Mount Teurafaatiu, a wide shallow lagoon around it, and a ring of five low coral islets, the motu Auira, Pa'ao, Tuanai, Tiapaa and Pitiahe, strung along the barrier reef. The geometry is that of its famous neighbour in miniature, but the lagoon is broad relative to the island, and from any height the water shows every shade between pale sand and deep blue.

The single navigable gap in the reef, the Onoiau pass, is narrow and known for powerful currents, and that difficulty of access has shaped the island's character. Maupiti has around 1,300 inhabitants, its economy rests largely on noni fruit, and visitors stay in family-run guesthouses rather than large resorts. The island is easily explored on foot or by bicycle; the climb to the summit of Teurafaatiu, or to the rock of Hotu Paraoa, gives a full circle of lagoon, motu and open ocean, while Tereia beach on the main island is the classic place to swim in the lagoon. Inside the lagoon, manta rays gather at a cleaning station where they can be watched by snorkellers.

People have lived here for a very long time. Archaeological finds on Maupiti go back to at least around AD 850, and a burial site found in 1962 pointed to early cultural links with distant New Zealand. Petroglyphs at Haranae and the stone platform of the marae Vaiahu near the waterfront are reminders of the old Polynesian order of the island. The first European recorded here was the Dutch navigator Jakob Roggeveen, in 1722.

Getting there

Maupiti Airport (MAU) lies on the motu Tuanai, about a kilometre from the main island across the lagoon, so the final stretch to the main island is a short boat crossing. Air Tahiti flies to Maupiti from Tahiti, Raiatea and Bora Bora; the flight from Tahiti-Faa'a, about 309 km away near Papeete, takes just under an hour, and the hop from Bora Bora about 20 minutes. Faa'a is also the arrival point for international flights to French Polynesia.