We had not yet crossed the heart of the island of Tahiti by the Papenoo valley, a small crossing of about 40 km from east to west in the heart of the crater of the volcano that formed the island of Tahiti a few million years ago.
The collapse of the Tahiti Nui volcano crater formed the caldiera, the upper Papenoo valley. With a surface area of 91 km², the watershed of the entire valley represents 10% of the total area of Tahiti Island.
We enter for this excursion through the Papenno valley on the east side of the island, then we go up (and sometimes down) to the tunnel in the heart of the volcano. After a short stop at the Maroto relay which gives access to the west side of the crater, you can see the only lake in Polynesia, Lake Vaihiria.
It is a unique site, presenting exceptional landscapes with deep valleys and high waterfalls and sheltering numerous archaeological structures, ancient settlements, agricultural terraces and basalt mines. Lena spent 1 week there during her green class at Fare Hape last June.
We discovered a part of the island which remains little visited by tourists, but to tell the truth they are quite wrong, because it's beautiful, so different from what we are used to see. The flora is very dense and there is an absolute calm.
On the other hand, it is better to have a 4x4 vehicle because the road is difficult to drive in certain places, that's why we chose Sébastien de Ciao Tahiti Excursion to make us discover this part of the island still unknown.
Here are some pictures to make you discover this beautiful walk.
