Travel Reports » Tahiti

Tahiti, with 190,000 inhabitants, is the most populous island of the French overseas territory of French Polynesia and, next to Bora Bora, certainly the most famous. Capital and largest city of the island is Papeete. Tahiti consists of two extinct volcanoes, which were created from a hot spot under the Pacific Plate. Therefore the landscape is characterized by steep peaks; the highest elevation is with 2.241 m the Mont Orohena. The uninhabited interior of the island is densely overgrown with tropical vegetation and is only partially accessible by dirt roads and footpaths. The few natural beaches of the island consist mainly of black, basaltic sand and are distributed mainly along the west coast. White, well-kept beaches are usually only found in the hotel resorts.