Nan Madol

Nan Madol, on the island of Pohnpei, is one of the most extraordinary and enigmatic archaeological sites in the Pacific, a UNESCO World Heritage Site sometimes called the Venice of the Pacific. Built between roughly the twelfth and seventeenth centuries, it comprises nearly a hundred artificial islets constructed on a coral reef across a shallow lagoon, linked by canals and made from colossal columns of naturally hexagonal basalt, some weighing many tonnes, stacked like giant logs into massive walls and platforms. It was the ceremonial and political capital of the Saudeleur dynasty, and how its builders quarried and moved the immense stones remains a mystery, lending the ruins, now half-reclaimed by mangroves, a haunting, otherworldly power.

History

People were active here by the first or second century AD; building of the islets had begun by the 8th or 9th century, and the megalithic walls of basalt, quarried from a volcanic plug on the far side of Pohnpei, from around 1180. Nan Madol was the ceremonial and political seat of the Saudeleur dynasty, which united Pohnpei's estimated 25,000 people until about 1628. Pohnpeian legend says it was built by the twin sorcerers Olisihpa and Olosohpa, who raised the stones with the help of a flying dragon, and that the Saudeleurs' rule ended with the invasion of Isokelekel, whose successors left the site. The Polish ethnographer John Kubary made the first detailed description in 1874; tales of sunken cities offshore were tested by underwater surveys in 1978-79, 1988-89 and 2013, which found the "pillars" to be coral (Wikipedia, Nan Madol).

What you'll find

• The basalt islets - the artificial islets of stacked basalt columns.
• The canals - the waterways linking the ruined city.
• Nandauwas - the great royal mortuary islet and its walls.
• The mangrove setting - the haunting, jungle-reclaimed ruins.

When to go

December to April tends to be slightly drier, though Pohnpei is one of the wettest places on earth and rain is possible any time; the site is reached by boat across the lagoon and a short walk, best at higher tide, and a local guide is required, both for access and to interpret the history and respect the sacred site.

What to expect

Nan Madol is remote, on the far-flung island of Pohnpei reached by long flights, and the ruins are partly overgrown by mangroves and jungle, reached by boat and requiring a local guide and often wet, muddy conditions; it is a sacred and sensitive site with access governed by local custom. For the reward of one of the most extraordinary and mysterious ancient sites in the Pacific, though, a vast basalt city rising from a lagoon, Nan Madol is genuinely awe-inspiring and unforgettable.

Nearby

The island of Pohnpei, its waterfalls and rainforest are within reach.

Key facts