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Micronesia MicronesiaVolcanic island

Pohnpei

346 km² rising to 791 m out of the Pacific Ocean.

When to go

Pohnpei seen from space, cut out from the sea (Sentinel-2)
PalikirKoloniaMadolenihm Municipality Government
N 5 km

Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.

In numbers

346km²

Area

222km

Coastline

791m

Highest point

Dolohmwar

26,102

People

30°C

Warmest sea

September

2,588km

To the mainland

When to go to Pohnpei

Best for the beach from January to May.

The sea is warmest in September (30 °C) and coolest in February (28 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).

Sea temperature (the water level) Air: night low to afternoon high Wet days Best months

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 Micronesia

Pohnpei is an volcanic island in Micronesia. It covers 346 km², with 222 km of coastline. Its highest point, Dolohmwar, rises to 791 m. About 26,102 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 2,588 km away.

Read more on Wikipedia

Getting there

  • Pohnpei International Airport (PNI)airport on the island, with scheduled flights
  • FerriesPaddling Route, Labyrinth Paddling Route
  • 2,588 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
  • From January to Maybest months to go (from 30 years of averages)

Plan the trip

Ferries, stays and things to do

Car hire in MicronesiaDiscover CarsSee 

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 Pohnpei.

  • 2beachesPikenkid
  • 11viewpointsStone Look-Out, Bridge over stream near sakau, Kupwuriso Summit and 8 more
  • 1marinas
  • 103named peaksNanalaud, Ngihneni, Dolohmwar and 100 more
  • 6waterfallsLududuhniap Falls, Kepindau Falls, Pohn Pillap Waterfall and 3 more
  • 6ruins and archaeological sitesRifle Pit, Stove, Pohnpaip Petroglyphs and 3 more
  • 1dive centresPohnpei Surf Club
  • 4campsitesHidden campground, Undercliff Jangle Campsite, Possible campsite and 1 more
  • 12hotels, guesthouses and apartments
  • 21restaurants, cafés and bars

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

Pohnpei in our other atlases

Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Pohnpei, each with its own numbers.

  • 41mountainsPeakyas
  • 1waterfallCascadyas

  • Highest point

    791m

    Dolohmwar

    prominence 791 m · according to Peakyas

41 mountains

on Peakyas, the mountain atlas

  1. Dolohmwarprominence 791 m791m
  2. Mount Nanlaud782m
  3. Mount Pwoaipwoai
  4. Tomwara
  5. Dolen Merewi
  6. Sokehs Rock
  7. Pohnlehr
  8. Pohn Tehnmei

33 more on PeakyasOpen Peakyas ↗

1 waterfalls

on Cascadyas, the waterfall atlas

  1. Liduduhnlap Waterfall

Cascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗

The shape of the land.

On average the island stands 154 m above the sea. 71 % of it is below 200 m.

  • 37 %0–50 m
  • 34 %50–200 m
  • 23 %200–500 m
  • 6 %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.

Pohnpei346 km²
Madeira Island742 km²
Malta247 km²

20 km

All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).

Towns on the island

  • Palikir6,942 people
  • Kolonia6,074 people
  • Kolonia Town5,681 people
  • Madolenihm Municipality Governmentno census figure

Month by month

The weather on the island.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Afternoon high (°C)282828292929282828282929
Night low (°C)282828282828282828282828
Sea (°C)282829292929293030302929
Rain (mm)205161219250290243268238264264274250
Wet days232022252728292928292626
Sun h/day6.87.27.26.96.46.96.97.36.76.36.06.3
Wind (km/h)272726242019151314141825

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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2020+0.3+0.6+0.3+0.4+0.5+0.6+0.6+0.6+0.6+0.8+0.5+0.6
2021+0.4+0.3+0.4+0.3+0.3+0.1±0.0+0.2+0.3+0.7+0.4+0.5
2022+0.6+0.4+0.3+0.1+0.1+0.2−0.2±0.0+0.2+0.2+0.3+0.5
2023+0.7+0.5+0.8+0.5+0.5+0.4+0.4+0.4+0.6+0.5+0.5+0.3
2024+0.5+0.6+0.5+0.6+0.4+0.7+0.7+0.9+0.8+0.8+0.7+0.8
2025+0.8+0.9+0.4+0.3+0.3+0.4+0.4+0.3+0.5+0.4+0.2+0.5

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

Photos

Seen by visitors.

Pohnpei International Airport
Gargoylepni · Public domain
Pwusehn Malek (also known as Chickenshit Mountain) in Pohnpei, FSM
Scot Nelson · CC0
Bay in Pohnpei from Dekehtik Causeway
Zykasaa · CC BY-SA 4.0
Coral reef around Pohnpei 2
Zykasaa · CC BY-SA 4.0

Nearby

More islands nearby.

Nan MadolMicronesiaMicronesia0.60 km²23 m16 km away

About these numbers

Names, area, populationWikidata (Q319836) · CC0
Outline© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
Sea temperatureNOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020
ClimateNASA POWER · 1991–2020
Relief, 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
TownsGeoNames · CC BY 4.0
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfallsPeakyas, Cascadyas — 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.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit
lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit
mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit
waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit
islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.You are here
riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit