French Polynesia Culture & Nature: Tahiti & the Marquesas

A day exploring the culture and scenery of Tahiti before venturing to the Marquesas. You might visit the excellent Museum of Tahiti and her Islands to learn about Polynesian culture, history and the great navigators, tour the island's dramatic coast and interior with its waterfalls, blowholes and lush valleys, visit the Gauguin-associated sites and gardens, and explore Papeete's market for black pearls, crafts and tropical produce. Tahiti reveals the modern, cultural heart of French Polynesia, and its museums, scenery and markets provide a wonderful introduction to Polynesian culture and history before the deeper, more ancient world of the Marquesas. In the evening, you might sample the famous roulottes, the harbourside food trucks, or enjoy a Polynesian dance show with its sensual ori Tahiti and thunderous drums. As you rest tonight, the anticipation builds for tomorrow's long, scenic flight to Nuku Hiva, the largest and most dramatic of the remote Marquesas Islands.

Today you take the long, scenic flight from Tahiti to Nuku Hiva, the largest of the Marquesas Islands, far to the northeast across the open Pacific. As the plane approaches, the island's soaring, jagged volcanic peaks and deep green valleys, rising straight from the deep blue ocean with no protective lagoon, are strikingly, wildly beautiful, utterly different from the Society Islands. On arrival you are welcomed and transferred, often over a dramatic mountain pass with breathtaking views, to your lodge or pension near the main village of Taiohae, set on a magnificent bay ringed by peaks. The rest of the day is yours to settle into this remote, dramatic island, exploring the village, meeting the warm Marquesan people, and taking in the raw natural grandeur all around you. Nuku Hiva sees very few visitors, and the sense of having reached somewhere truly remote and unspoiled is profound. As the sun sets over the wild bay, you settle in for a genuine Marquesan adventure.

A day exploring the dramatic valleys and wild nature of Nuku Hiva. You journey by 4x4 over a dramatic mountain pass, with breathtaking views over peaks and bays, into the lush Taipivai valley, immortalised by Herman Melville in his novel 'Typee', with its deep green forest, ancient ceremonial sites and monumental stone tiki hidden among the trees. You might also hike or take a boat and walk to the spectacular Hakaui waterfall, Vaipo, one of the highest in the Pacific, plunging hundreds of metres down a sheer cliff into a hidden valley, a magnificent and remote natural wonder. Along the way, your Marquesan guide brings the landscapes, legends and history vividly to life. The raw, untamed beauty of the valleys, waterfalls and peaks, so unlike the gentle lagoons of the Society Islands, is a feast for the senses. As the sun sets over the wild landscape, enjoy a hearty Marquesan dinner of fresh fish, breadfruit and tropical fruit.

A day immersed in the rich culture and ancient history of Nuku Hiva. You explore ancient ceremonial complexes (me'ae and tohua) hidden in the jungle-clad valleys, with their monumental stone platforms, terraces and remarkable stone tiki, atmospheric and steeped in legend, learning about the rituals, warrior culture and daily life of the old Marquesan civilisation. You visit the village of Taiohae, its cathedral built with beautiful Marquesan carvings, and meet carvers and artisans producing some of the finest tiki, wood and stone sculpture in the Pacific, part of a vibrant cultural renaissance. If timing allows, you may witness traditional Marquesan dance and music, powerful and dramatic. The Marquesan people are warm, proud and welcoming, and the sense of a living, ancient culture, distinct and powerful, is deeply moving. This immersion in the archaeology, art and living traditions of Nuku Hiva reveals the extraordinary cultural depth of the Marquesas. As evening falls, reflect on the profound, untamed spirit of these remote islands.

Today you fly the short hop to Hiva Oa, the second-largest of the Marquesas and, for many, the most beautiful, a dramatic island of soaring peaks, deep valleys and wild coastlines, and the place where the artist Paul Gauguin and singer Jacques Brel chose to spend their final years. On arrival you are welcomed and transferred to your lodge or pension near the village of Atuona, set on a magnificent bay beneath towering ridges. The rest of the day is yours to settle into this beautiful, remote island, exploring the village, meeting the warm Marquesan people, and taking in the dramatic scenery. Hiva Oa is famous for its ancient tiki, its artistic associations and its raw natural grandeur, and sees even fewer visitors than Nuku Hiva. As the sun sets over the wild bay ringed by peaks, the profound sense of remoteness and untamed beauty settles over you, and you look forward to exploring the cultural and natural wonders of this extraordinary island.

A day exploring the cultural and artistic riches of Hiva Oa. In the village of Atuona, you visit the Paul Gauguin Cultural Centre, exploring the artist's life and work in the Marquesas, where he painted some of his most famous canvases, and the reconstruction of his 'House of Pleasure'. Nearby, in the hillside cemetery overlooking the bay, you visit the simple, moving graves of both Gauguin and Brel, set against a backdrop of dramatic peaks and blue ocean, a poignant and beautiful spot. You then journey to the extraordinary archaeological site at Puamau, home to the largest ancient tiki in French Polynesia, a massive, enigmatic stone figure over two metres tall, and other remarkable tiki and ceremonial platforms overgrown with banyan trees, atmospheric and steeped in legend. Guided by a knowledgeable local, you learn about the powerful pre-European civilisation of these islands. This rich day, blending art, history and ancient culture in a spectacular setting, is a highlight of the whole journey through the wild and cultural Marquesas.

A final day to explore the dramatic nature and warm culture of Hiva Oa. You might journey by 4x4 over mountain passes into deep green valleys, visit remote villages to meet carvers and artisans, hike to a viewpoint or waterfall, explore more ancient ceremonial sites and petroglyphs, or take in the wild, surf-battered coast. Along the way, your Marquesan guide shares the legends, history and daily life of the island, and you experience the traditional, self-sufficient way of life little changed for generations. The raw, untamed beauty of Hiva Oa's peaks, valleys and coast, and the warmth and pride of its people, make a wonderful, immersive finale to your journey through the remote Marquesas. As the sun sets over the wild landscape, enjoy a farewell Marquesan dinner, reflecting on the extraordinary adventure you have had, the dramatic scenery, ancient tiki, living culture and profound remoteness of these islands, so utterly different from the resort image of French Polynesia.

This morning you bid farewell to the wild, beautiful Marquesas and take the long, scenic flight back to Tahiti for your final night in French Polynesia. On arrival, you transfer to your hotel, and the afternoon is free to relax, explore Papeete's market for Marquesan crafts and black pearls, enjoy a spa treatment, or simply reflect on the extraordinary journey you have made to the remote, dramatic and deeply cultural Marquesas Islands. This evening, a farewell dinner celebrates the wild beauty, ancient tiki, rich culture and profound remoteness you have experienced, so different from the famous lagoons of the Society Islands. As you toast your journey, the memory of the soaring peaks, hidden valleys, monumental tiki and warm, proud Marquesan people, and the sense of having glimpsed an older, untamed Polynesia, stays with you. Rest well ahead of your departure tomorrow, carrying home a rare and precious experience of the real, wild heart of French Polynesia.

After a final morning in Tahiti, perhaps a last browse of the market, you are transferred to the airport for your onward international departure. You leave having experienced a rare and precious side of French Polynesia, not the famous lagoons and overwater bungalows, but the wild, remote and deeply cultural Marquesas Islands, with their soaring dramatic peaks, hidden valleys, spectacular waterfalls, ancient monumental tiki, and proud, living Polynesian culture. The sense of having reached somewhere truly remote and unspoiled, of having glimpsed an older, untamed Polynesia, and of the warmth of the Marquesan people, stays with you long after you return home. For the curious, adventurous traveller, the Marquesas offer one of the most rewarding and authentic experiences in the Pacific, and you depart already treasuring the memory of these extraordinary, wild and beautiful islands at the very edge of the world.