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The island of Fatu Hiva (84 km², 587 inhabitants) is the southernmost island of the archipelago of the Marquesas islands. The island is in fact almost 80 km south of the island of Hiva Oa and is the most difficult island to visit in the archipelago, in fact there is no airport and there are no regular services connecting to the other islands.
Fatu Hiva is the most remote inhabited island of the Marquesas, and it is also the greenest, thanks to the intense rains. Citrus and bananas are grown on the island. The island was the first to be discovered by Europeans. Fatu Hiva was in fact discovered on July 21, 1595 by an expedition led by the Spanish explorer Álvaro de Mendaña y Neira.
The island of Fatu Hiva represents what remains of two volcanoes, one of which grew within the crater of the other. The current mountain range forms a ridge whose maximum height is Mount Touaouoho (960 meters). On the island there are only two villages all located along the west coast: The first is the village of Hanavave located in the bay of Hanavave, also known as Bay of Virgins, in the north part of the west coast. While the second village is that of Omoa located in the bay of Omoa in the southern part of the west coast.
The island is one of the most spectacular and wild of the Marquesas archipelago. The most famous and well-known area is the so-called Bay of Virgins, in front of the village of Hanavave. Hanavave in the Bay of Virgins offers one of the most fantastic scenarios in the whole of French Polynesia. This show is particularly beautiful just before sunset when the sunlight illuminates the strange rock formations of the island with its rays.
HOW TO GET TO FATU HIVA
This island is very difficult to visit. The island does not have an airport, and there are no regular connections to the other islands in the archipelago. Only occasionally are there boats leaving from the port of Atuona on the island of Hiva Oa. The best way to reach the island is a cruise aboard the Aranui freighter.