Part of French Polynesia
- Where
- c. 1,200 km northeast of Tahiti
French Polynesia - Coordinates
- 9.7500° S
139.0000° W - Biome
- Steep volcanic island
- Islands
- 12 total, 6 inhabited
- Status
- UNESCO World Heritage, 2024
- Best visited
- April–October
The short answer
The Marquesas are a group of twelve volcanic islands in French Polynesia, six of them inhabited, lying roughly 1,200 kilometres northeast of Tahiti with a population of around 9,000. They were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2024 under the Marquesan name Te Henua Enata, the Land of Men, as a mixed cultural and natural property. Hiva Oa holds the largest stone tiki in French Polynesia and the graves of Paul Gauguin and Jacques Brel; Nuku Hiva, the largest island, holds some of the most significant archaeological sites in the Pacific.
Why it's worth knowing
Almost every image of French Polynesia is a lagoon: turquoise shallows, a white beach, a reef holding the ocean at arm's length. The Marquesas have essentially none of that. They are young, steep volcanic islands with little or no barrier reef, so the Pacific arrives directly at the cliff. Ridges rise to well over a thousand metres. The water is deep and dark rather than turquoise, the beaches are often black, and horses run wild on the uplands.
The culture is equally its own. The Marquesas were settled early and stayed distinct — a separate language with northern and southern dialects, its own carving and tattoo traditions, and archaeological sites on a scale unusual anywhere in Polynesia. Marquesan tattooing in particular is regarded as among the most developed art of its kind in the world.
The field notes
Stone in the valleys
The archaeology is the reason for the 2024 inscription. Scattered through the valleys are tohua — long ceremonial plazas — along with paepae stone house platforms, me'ae sacred sites, petroglyphs, and tiki.
The Iipona site on Hiva Oa holds the largest tiki in French Polynesia. On Nuku Hiva, the Taipivai valley is dotted with tiki and rock art, and the Kamuihei and Hikoku sites near Hatiheu carry petroglyphs and ruins under enormous banyans. The Koueva tohua above Taiohae was restored in 1999 to host the Marquesas Arts Festival, which is held every four years and is the single best time to be in the islands.
Two graves above Atuona
Paul Gauguin moved to Hiva Oa in September 1901 and died there in 1903. Jacques Brel, the Belgian singer, settled on the island in the mid-1970s and died in 1978. Both are buried in the Calvary Cemetery on the hillside above Atuona, within sight of each other, looking out over the bay.
There is a cultural centre in the village devoted to both, with a replica of Gauguin's Maison du Jouir and, in a nearby museum, Brel's aeroplane. Gauguin's legacy is complicated and worth reading about honestly rather than romantically; the islands hold his grave, not his reputation.
A language still spoken
Marquesan is recognised as a regional language of France and remains in everyday use — around two thirds of people speak it at home. It has two dialects matching the island groups: ènana in the north on Nuku Hiva, Ua Pou and Ua Huka, and ènata in the south on Hiva Oa, Tahuata and Fatu Hiva. A Marquesan Academy, established in 2000, works on its revitalisation alongside the schools.
The name Marquesas came from outside: the Spanish navigator Álvaro de Mendaña named the islands in 1595 after his patron's wife. The name the islands use for themselves is Te Henua Enata.
Carved rosewood. Marquesan woodcarvers work native rosewood and other dense island timbers into bowls, platters and figures using designs found nowhere else, and the craft did not have to be revived because it never fully stopped. A finished piece is heavy, close-grained, dark, and covered edge to edge in the same patterns that appear on skin and on stone.
Getting there
Air Tahiti flies from Papeete to Nuku Hiva in about three and a half hours, with service to Hiva Oa as well; inter-island connections link the two. Most visitors reach the Marquesas one of two ways: by air, generally seeing Nuku Hiva and Hiva Oa, or aboard the Aranui, a working cargo-and-passenger ship that supplies the islands and carries travellers on its rounds — the more thorough option, since it calls at islands with no airstrip.
April to October is drier. There is no reef, so swimming is generally not the point; walking, riding, and the archaeological sites are. If the timing works, come for the Marquesas Arts Festival.
Common questions
Where are the Marquesas Islands?
The Marquesas are an archipelago of twelve volcanic islands in French Polynesia, roughly 1,200 kilometres northeast of Tahiti. Six are inhabited, with a combined population of around 9,000 people. The largest are Nuku Hiva in the northern group and Hiva Oa in the south.
Why are the Marquesas a UNESCO World Heritage Site?
The Marquesas were inscribed in July 2024 under the Marquesan name Te Henua Enata, the Land of Men, as a mixed property recognised for both natural and cultural criteria. The inscription reflects the islands' archaeological sites, including ceremonial plazas, stone platforms and monumental tiki, alongside their landscapes and marine environment.
Why do the Marquesas have no lagoons?
The Marquesas are young, steep volcanic islands with little or no barrier reef, so the open Pacific meets the coastline directly rather than being held off by a lagoon. The result is deep dark water, black sand beaches and cliffs, in contrast to the turquoise lagoons of Tahiti and the Tuamotus.
Who is buried on Hiva Oa?
Paul Gauguin, who moved to Hiva Oa in September 1901 and died there in 1903, and Jacques Brel, the Belgian singer who settled on the island in the mid-1970s and died in 1978, are both buried in the Calvary Cemetery on the hillside above Atuona.
Where is the largest tiki in French Polynesia?
The largest stone tiki in French Polynesia stands at the Iipona archaeological site on Hiva Oa in the Marquesas. Nuku Hiva also holds major sites, including tiki and rock art in the Taipivai valley and petroglyphs at Kamuihei and Hikoku near Hatiheu.
Is Marquesan still spoken?
Yes. Marquesan is recognised as a regional language of France and is spoken at home by around two thirds of the population. It has two dialects matching the island groups: enana in the north and enata in the south. A Marquesan Academy established in 2000 works on revitalisation alongside the schools.
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