Hiva Oa

Hiva Oa is the largest island of the southern Marquesas, steep and green with ridges dropping into the sea and the main village, Atuona, in a bay below Mount Temetiu. Paul Gauguin spent his last years here and Jacques Brel his; both are buried in the Calvaire cemetery above the village. The island holds the archipelago's most important archaeological sites, including Iipona at Puamau. Hiva Oa and Tahuata form a named component of the UNESCO listing.

History

The first recorded European sighting of Hiva Oa was by the Spanish expedition of Álvaro de Mendaña on 21 July 1595, which charted it as Dominica. With its 320 square kilometres it is the second largest of the Marquesas and the largest of the southern group, home to around 2,200 people and rising to 1,269 metres on the volcano Temetiu (Wikipedia, Hiva Oa).

What's there

• The Calvaire cemetery - the graves of Gauguin and Brel above Atuona.
• The Gauguin centre - the reconstruction of his house and the interpretation centre.
• The archaeological sites - Iipona and others across the island.
• The ridge country - steep green valleys dropping to the sea.

When to go

May to October is the dry season. Flights are limited and expensive. The Marquesas arts festival brings crowds when it is held here.

What to expect

Flights from Tahiti are long and expensive and schedules are limited. Roads across the island are rough and journeys slow. Nono flies bite badly on the beaches.

Nearby

Iipona is at Puamau, and Tahuata is south across the channel.

Key facts