FranceMarquesas IslandsVolcanic islandUNESCO World Heritage
Fatu Hiva
84.6 km² rising to 954 m out of the Pacific Ocean.
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
84.6km²
Area
73km
Coastline
954m
Highest point
636
People
29°C
Warmest sea
April
4,836km
To the mainland
When to go to Fatu Hiva
Best for the beach from July to October and in December.
The sea is warmest in April (29 °C) and coolest in August (27 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island in French Polynesia
Fatu Hiva is an volcanic island in France. It belongs to Marquesas Islands. It covers 84.6 km², with 73 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 954 m. About 636 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 4,836 km away. It is part of a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Getting there
- Hiva Oa-Atuona Airport (AUQ)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 89 km in a straight lineCar hire at BES airport (Brest)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- 4,836 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From July to October and Decemberbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Fatu Hiva.
- 2viewpoints
- 11named peaksTekou, Tauaouoho, Faeone and 8 more
- 2waterfallsHanavave Waterfall
- 1ruins and archaeological sitesPetroglyphs
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Fatu Hiva in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Fatu Hiva, each with its own numbers.
5mountainsPeakyas
5 mountains
on Peakyas, the mountain atlas
- Mont Teoaiua
- Mont Teamotua
- Roche Pointue
- Mont Nataha
- Mont Boisé
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 318 m above the sea. 31 % of it is below 200 m.
- 8 %0–50 m
- 23 %50–200 m
- 48 %200–500 m
- 21 %500–1,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
10 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 28 |
| Night low (°C) | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 |
| Sea (°C) | 28 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 28 |
| Rain (mm) | 54 | 42 | 49 | 43 | 41 | 34 | 24 | 22 | 17 | 21 | 36 | 26 |
| Wet days | 11 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 7 |
| Sun h/day | 9.7 | 9.7 | 9.4 | 9.2 | 8.9 | 8.7 | 8.8 | 9.3 | 9.6 | 9.9 | 9.7 | 10.0 |
| Wind (km/h) | 23 | 22 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 24 | 25 | 24 | 25 | 22 | 22 | 23 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | −0.3 | −0.6 | −0.8 | −0.9 |
| 2021 | −1.2 | −0.7 | −0.2 | −0.4 | −0.4 | −0.4 | −0.5 | −0.5 | −0.3 | −0.4 | −0.4 | −0.7 |
| 2022 | −0.9 | −1.1 | −1.2 | −1.1 | −1.2 | −1.1 | −0.9 | −0.7 | −0.8 | −0.8 | −0.7 | −0.9 |
| 2023 | −0.6 | −0.6 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.6 |
| 2024 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.3 | ±0.0 | −0.2 |
| 2025 | ±0.0 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | −0.3 | −0.3 | −0.2 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q632061) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Peakyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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