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History
Around 4000 BC, a great migration began from Southeast Asia across open ocean to settle the Pacific Islands. Many researchers conclude that Tonga and Samoa were settled around 1300 BC and from here colonization voyages were launched to the Marquesas Islands in about 200 BC. Over the next several centuries, great migrations to colonize all the Tahitian islands and virtually the entire South Pacific took place.

This area of the Pacific ocean is now called the “Polynesian Triangle” and includes Hawaii to the north, Easter Island to the southeast, and New Zealand to the southwest. As a result of these migrations, the native Hawaiians and the Maoris of New Zealand all originate from common ancestors and speak a similar language collectively known as Maohi.

The era of European exploration began in the 1500s when “ships without outriggers” began to arrive. In 1521, Magellan spotted the atoll of Pukapuka in what is now the Tuamotu Atolls and, in 1595, the Spanish explorer Mendaña visited Fatu Hiva Island in the Marquesas. More than 170 years later, Captain Samuel Wallis and the H.M.S. Dolphin was the first to visit the island of Tahiti during his journey to discover terra australis incognita, a mythical landmass below the equator thought to balance the northern hemisphere. Wallis named the island of Tahiti “King George III Island” and claimed it for England. Soon after and unaware of Wallis’ arrival, French navigator Louis-Antoine de Bougainville, landed on the opposite side of Tahiti and claimed it for the King of France.

European fascination with the islands grew as news spread of both the mutiny of Capt. William Bligh’s crew aboard the H.M.S. Bounty and of tales of tropical beauty and the warm nature of the Tahitian people. Knowledge of Tahiti and the South Pacific continued to grow as Capt. James Cook brought back thousands of illustrations of Tahitian flora and fauna as well as the first map of the islands of the Pacific. In the 1800s, the arrival of whalers, British missionaries, and French military expeditions forever changed the way of life on Tahiti and created a French-British rivalry for control of the islands. The Pomare Dynasty ruled Tahiti until 1847 when Queen Pomare finally accepted French protection of the islands of Tahiti and Moorea.

In 1880, following the queen’s death, King Pomare V was persuaded to cede Tahiti and most of its dependencies to France. In 1957, all the islands of Tahiti were reconstituted as the overseas French territory called French Polynesia. Since 1984, a statue of autonomy was implemented and, in 1998, French Polynesia became an overseas country with greater self-governing powers through their own Assembly and President. With these powers, the country is now negotiating international agreements with foreign states in matters of commerce and investment.

Culture
The Tahitians of the modern era maintain their heritage and traditions of their Maohi ancestors. Oral history recounts the adventures of gods and warriors in colorful legends where javelin throwing was the sport of the gods, surf riding was favored by the kings, and Aito strongmen competed in outrigger canoe races and stone lifting as a show of pure strength.

Marae
The open-air sanctuaries called marae were once the center of power in ancient Polynesia. These large, stone structures, akin to temples, hosted the important events of the times including the worship of the gods, peace treaties, celebrations of war, and the launch of voyages to colonize distant lands.


Heiva i Tahiti
In celebration of ancient traditions and competitions, the annual Heiva festival has been the most important event in Tahiti for the past 122 years. For visitors, there is no better place in the world to be during July than surrounded by this pure display of Polynesian festivity. Tahitians gather in Papeete from many islands to display their crafts, compete in ancient sporting events, and recreate traditional and elaborate dance performances.

Tattoo
The word tattoo originated in Tahiti. The legend of Tohu, the god of tattoo, describes painting all the oceans’ fish in beautiful colors and patterns. In Polynesian culture, tattoos have long been considered signs of beauty, and in earlier times were ceremoniously applied when reaching adolescence.

Music and Dance
The beauty, drama, and power of today’s Tahitian dance testify to its resilience in Polynesian culture. In ancient times, dances were directly linked with all aspects of life. One would dance for joy, to welcome a visitor, to pray to a god, to challenge an enemy, and to seduce a mate. Dance is still accompanied by traditional musical instruments such as thunderous drums, conch shells, and harmonic nasal flutes. Modern Tahitian music is enjoyable as well, with a sound that often blends Polynesian rhythm and Western melody.

Handcrafts
The skills of the ancestors’ artistry are kept sacred and passed on by both the “mamas,” the guardians of tradition and the matriarchs of Tahitian society as well as by skilled craftsmen. Items include weaving, quilting, wooden sculptures and bowls, drums, tapa, carvings, and hand-dyed pareu.

Canoes
Centuries before the Europeans concluded that the earth was round, the great voyagers of Polynesia had already mastered the Pacific Ocean. Aboard massive, double-hulled outrigger canoes called tipairua, they navigated by stars and winds. Today, the canoe still plays a role in everyday Tahitian life and is honored in colorful races and festivals throughout the islands.

Flowers
Tropical flowers seem to be everywhere on the islands, particularly in the hair of Tahitians. Hibiscus blossoms are worn behind the ear or braided with palm fronds into floral crowns. The Tiare Tahiti flower is used in leis for greeting arriving visitors and returning family. Tradition holds that, if taken, women and men wear a flower behind their left ear.

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The Magical Island

Moorea, soaring magically out of the ocean in an explosion of green velvet, is what you would imagine a South Seas island to be.

A wide, shallow lagoon surrounds the island's vertical mountains where poetic threads of waterfalls tumble down fern-softened cliffs. Peaceful meadows flanked by pinnacles of green will fill your senses and renew your belief in the majesty of nature.

Pastel-painted houses surrounded by gardens of hibiscus and birds of paradise, circle the island in a fantasy of happy, yet simple villages.

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Bora Bora, The Romantic Island
Bora Bora, with a lagoon resembling an artist's palette of blues and greens, is love at first sight.

Honeymooners and romantics from around the world have laid claim to Bora Bora where the castle-like Mount Otemanu pierces the sky. Lush tropical slopes and valleys blossom with hibiscus, while palm-covered motu circle the lagoon like a delicate necklace. Perfect white-sand beaches give way to emerald waters where impossibly colored fish animate the coral gardens.

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Garden of Eden

Huahine, with its lush forests, untamed landscape, and quaint villages, is one of Polynesia's best-kept secrets.

A deep, crystal-clear lagoon surrounds the two islands while magnificent bays and white-sand beaches add drama and solitude to their virtues. Relatively unchanged by the modern world, Huahine's few residents welcome visitors with great kindness. The island's soil is rich and fertile, providing the farmers a bountiful harvest of vanilla, melons, and bananas.

The spell cast by Huahine will last a lifetime.

Hermosa
This name bestowed by Captain Cook in 1769 means "beautiful" in Spanish. The name Huahine may come from the profile of a mountain which reveals the shape of a pregnant woman.

Mythology provides two legends for the creation of the two islands of Huahine: either the god Hiro cut the island in half with his canoe or a spear thrown in a contest among gods pierced Moorea's Mt. Mouaputa and then sailed 100 miles where it split Huahine in two!

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Raiatea - The Sacred Island

Raiatea, meaning "faraway heaven" and "sky with soft light", was first named Havai'i after the homeland of the ancient Polynesians and is the most sacred island in the South Pacific.

This, the second largest Tahitian isle, was the center of religion and culture over 1000 years ago and still lends enchantment to ancient legends told to this day. The green-carpeted mountains covering the interior include the celebrated Mt. Temehani, a sort of Polynesian Mt. Olympus.

Where legends began and dreams are fulfilled.

Taha'a - The Vanilla Island

Taha'a, with the rich aroma of vanilla lingering heavily in the air, offers a glimpse of the traditional, tranquil life of the Tahitians. The flower-shaped island's simple beauty is charmed by soft mountain shapes and surrounded by tiny motu with bright sand beaches. In the fertile valleys cutting within the island, local farmers grow watermelon, vanilla, and copra.

With a heart-beat rhythm of life unique in the world.

Tiare Apetahi Flower
Upon Mt. Temehani on Raiatea lives a flower so rare it can be grown no place else on earth. Ancient legends spin a tragic romantic tale where the five petals of this white flower represent the hand of a common Tahitian girl who was in love with the son of a Tahitian king. Because she was not allowed to marry him, she died of a broken heart; the sound of which is re-created each dawn as the delicate petals open with a slight crackling sound.

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The Endless Lagoon

Rangiroa, a string of coral encircling a luminous turquoise and jade-green lagoon, is one of the world's greatest dive destinations.
From the air, the atoll - the second largest in the world - seems to be a giant pearl necklace laid upon the water.

Here is a world where 240 tiny islets, or motu, each no more than three feet in elevation, lay upon the ocean for more than 110 miles completely encircling an infinitely deep lagoon.

Surrounded by two legendary bodies of water, Moana-tea (Peaceful Ocean) and Moana-uri (Wild Ocean), the main villages of Avatoru and Tiputa offer the visitor with a unique look at the South Pacific lifestyle of the residents. Along the few roads, coral churches, craft centers, local restaurants, and tiny shops provide enjoyable land-based experiences to complement the many activities awaiting the visitor in the lagoon.

A world where drama and simplicity share the same breath.

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Island of Pearls

Manihi, lost in the vastness of the South Pacific, conjures up castaway dreams of a tropical isle.

Far from the modern world, the crystal-clear lagoon was once filled with mother-of-pearl and is the site of Tahiti's first black pearl farm. Today, Manihi is still the leading supplier for the Tahitian cultured pearl industry.

This is "farm country" South Pacific style. Instead of crops, over 60 farms here produce the world's most sought after gem: pearls. Manihi's lagoon waters are among the most perfect on earth for cultivating pearls because of the temperature, density, salinity, light, and overall climate.

Besides the pearl farms, visitors enjoy exploring the lagoon and the main village of Turipaoa. There are few cars here so walking around the town square and along the coral paths is as peaceful and romantic as the lagoon itself.

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Pink Sand Island

Tikehau, a graceful oval crown of pink-sand beaches, can only be described as a picture postcard.

Considered to be one of the most beautiful atolls in Polynesia, the fragrance of the air is matched only by the abundance of life in the bright-blue water. The friendly people, their homes awash with gardens, invite you to share and explore their world beyond imagination.

In this pristine world, fish seem to outnumber people one-billion-to one. In fact the density of the fish in the lagoon is so high that Jacques Cousteau's research group declared that Tikehau's lagoon contained the highest concentration of fish in all of the Tuamotu atolls.

Fishing is among the primary industries here for the 400 residents. Families share fish parks - underwater fenced areas - where they trap parrotfish and other lagoon species as a primary source of food and income. Families also ship fish by air to Papeete for sale in the local markets. Visitors enjoy endless hours of exploring the perfection of the lagoon, the Isle of Birds, and the tidy island village of Tuherahera.

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Island of Dreams

Fakarava, is an untouched world where nesting birds and marine life live in harmony with the land and water.

The rich ecosystem is home to rare birds, plants, and crustaceans while the dive sites are virtually undiscovered. Life along the quiet shores is equally unique with quaint villages, old coral churches, and welcoming people.
Even though Fakarava is the newest destination to welcome resort visitors among Tahiti & Her Islands, it was one of the first population centers and the ancient capital of the region. The lagoon, the second largest after Rangiroa, is rich with life below and above the surface and a prime example of nature at its finest. So pure is the environment here that Fakarava is being considered for classification as a UNESCO nature reserve for the preservation of rare species.

Life among the 400 residents is centralized around the quaint villages of Rotoava and the Tetamanu.

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The Mysterious Islands

The Marquesas, or Henua Enata meaning "Land of Men", are seemingly lost at the end of the earth.

Even now, some of the islands are virtually untouched since the era of European exploration. The isolation of the Marquesas from other lands has created an immense pride among the people and a fascinating culture. The language is unique to Tahiti, as the lilting Marquesan dialect is traced directly to the ancient Polynesian tongue of Maohi.

Natural wonders abound as 1000-foot waterfalls cascade down sheer volcanic cliffs, and towering mountains disappear mysteriously in the clouds.

This world belongs to the past where the spirits of the ancient Maohi still live.

The primary islands with lodging are:

Nuku Hiva - Mystic Island
The largest island in the Marquesas is known for towering spire-like peaks; secluded, lush valleys; ancient religious sites; fjord-like bays; and waterfalls so high that most of the falling water evaporates as it descends.

Hiva Oa - Paul Gauguin's Island
This majestic and historic island is known for its wild, untamed landscape, giant stone tiki, endless and unearthly vistas, and as the final resting place of poet Jacques Brel and artist Paul Gauguin.