Travel Guide Pahua

Tiny atoll of 10 km long over 5 km wide, Mataiva is the westernmost atoll of Tuamotu, 18 km from Tikehau. Mataiva's nine channels gave her his name (mata: eyes, iva. nine).Its extremely rich lagoon is connected to the ocean only by its nine hoas, channels that allow a thin body of water, but almost high on the pass name, the Faratue pass. It is practicable only by poti marara. On this pass of 1.50 m, a bridge connects the two sides of the village of Pahua, the head of this small world where less than 250 inhabitants live simply from fishing (always miraculous), coprah and tourism.However, this eden is on the edge of the razor. The people are concerned about the development of the phosphate-rich, phosphate-rich subsoil. As Makatea, operated until 1966, the lagoon has a hundred deposits totaling 12 million tons of this essential raw material. The people have already spoken against this project. After phosphate, the atoll has many other advantages to please. Many wonders are to be discovered, where legends are not finished forever: the rocher of the Turtle (Ofa 'i Tau Noa), the Papiro marae, the two islands inside the lagoon, the bird island, the Mataiva Nombril and the Iron Sail… All these sites invite to escape, in this paradise of farcing.