Making the most of Ua Pou Marquesa Islands
Use these notes to shape a realistic day ashore, then confirm any time-sensitive information for the date of your call.
Arriving at the port
Most vessels moor or anchor in this port, with tenders carrying passengers ashore.
Keep a printable map to hand while exploring.
Ua Pou has imposing jagged cliffs that rise from the sea. With some 2,000 residents, it is the most populated island.
Ua Pou possesses one of Earth's most dramatic skylines: a wilderness of extraordinary peaks thrusting 4,000 feet into the ocean sky. Great Cathedral spires and strange obelisk-like columns give the island its name, meaning the pillars.
Ua Pou, the Marquesas archipelago's third largest island, lies 22 miles south of Nuku Hiva and 53 miles west-northwest of Hiva Oa. Hakahau contains the first Marquesan church, built in 1859, while the villages of Haakuti and Hakahetau have small Catholic churches constructed on paepae platforms.
Facilities in Hakahau range from a hospital, gendarmerie, bank and post office to food shops, boutiques, schools and port services. There is also an Air Tahiti office, Catholic and Protestant churches, pensions, restaurants and bars.
Money
8.38 euros is equivalent to 1000 CFP francs.
Staying connected
French and Tahitian are the official languages.