Raiatea and Tahaa Travel Guide

French Polynesia's sacred heart, Raiatea was formerly known as Havaiki, the "sacred island." Thought to be the first inhabited island, Polynesian tradition has it that Hiro, a descendant of the creator god Taaroa and Oro, was its first king, founder of the dynasty and the Taputapuatea marae at Opoa.

From Mt Temehani (772m) - described as a "Polynesian Olympus" and on which the Tiare apetahi plant is found - and its waterfalls and fertile valleys to the narrow Faaroa Bay and charming lagoon speckled with many islets, Raiatea is one of the lesser-known gems of the Pacific.

Uturoa, the commercial centre and main port (as well as the administrative centre for the Leeward Islands), has market days on Wednesdays and Fridays, when the market place is heaving with land and marine produce.