- Ship
- 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
Within the Polynesian triangle, Raiatea, or Havai’i as it was originally known, is considered the cradle of Polynesian civilization. As the first island to be populated by these seafaring people, this is where all migration to the three points, New Zealand, Hawaii, and Easter Island, began. Taputapuatea, a 1,000-year-old large marae complex, or open-air temple, and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is regarded as the religious and spiritual center of all of Eastern Polynesia. From here, navigators and sailors would venture out to settle new lands. Appropriately, Raiatea, with its main town of Uturoa, is the base for most yacht charter companies. Mount Temehani, the island’s most sacred mountain, is home to the tiare apetahi, a flower found nowhere else in the world, which only blooms at dawn.