marae at taputaputaea

The ancient marae on Raiatea are not spectacular when compared to other ancient peoples' temples and altars, such as the Maya of Central America, but they are still worth a visit if you are in French Polynesia, to get a feel for the culture. Generally, they are small platforms of volcanic rocks piled up to form an altar by the ancient Tahitians. When combined with the explainations of the culture and the beautiful scenery surrounding them, they are worth a visit.

Marae Taputaputaea is definitely worth a visit - not only for the ancient oldest Marae but for the surrounding flora animals and fruit trees from Land crabs to Reef Egrets and Banyan trees. There are 3 Maraes there.

Marae at Taputaputaea is a fascinating and important historic site in the South Pacific. It had originated in 1000 AD and had been expanded significantly over time. Marae were meeting places where leaders, priests, navigators, and others gathered to offer sacrifices to the gods and to discuss the affairs and mysteries of their time.The site itself is self guided, but there are several placards describing the marae - it's history, meaning, development, etc. There are no shops, refreshments, or bathrooms on site. But about 100 yards south along the road is Hotel Atapiti where Marie-Claude, the owner, offers a fine lunch and has refreshments (i.e., local beer :-))I was very eager to visit the marae of the South Pacific (French Polynesia) after having read Blue Latitudes: Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before – August 1, 2003, by Tony Horwitz and Resolution, Captain Cook's Second Voyage of Discovery, by Peter Aughton. Cook travelled to Tahiti and many of the other islands that make up the Society Islands (including Raiatea) and I read about the customs of the natives prior to the explorers and missionaries impacted their cultures. These provided great context to the visit.So, if you are a history buff or interested in the customs of the cultures and practices of earlier times, then I highly recommend the visit.

Given its age, I was impressed at how well preserved this site is. A marae is a rectangular sacred area made of stones that once was a gathering area for religious and social events for the early Polynesians. It has large stone structures at the back and footbed stones leading up to them. Please have reverence for this site - you are NOT allowed to walk on the flatbed stones, but we saw tourists do so - shame on them! There are plenty of shade trees there (it was a hot day!) and if you get tired of listening, you can walk the area on your own and get great pictures.

This is a very interesting historic temple and site of the early Polynesians. Access from the road is easy but difficult from the sea. A must of a stop when you go around the island. and even better with a guide to better understand this fascinating culture.

The grounds are nice and clean. Well shaded with lots of trees. There are some informational plaques you can read to learn more about what the sites well used for. We walked throughout the entire grounds and took lots of pictures.

Very interesting as it is the nest of Polynesian culture but yu need a guide to really understand its meaning and importance

Easy to find, you can park opposite by the loos. Graphics give details of the site and history and the Maraes are bigger than on other islands and well preserved. Shame about some of the graffiti.

This is the most interesting place on Raietea. The information posters are in French, English and Tahitian. It is a large sunny site next to the ocean. Sun protection advised. Very well preserved and worthwhile stop.

We hired a car to tour around and really enjoyed our visit to the Marae.It is a pretty location and the information boards are great as they give you all the information you need to understand what you are looking at.

Whilst you will need transport to get there it is worth the trip. There are 5-6 marae which are beautifully maintained. Information boards in several languages give good information for those needing to understand what we are looking at.There is shelter here as well as toilets in the car park by the road.

Our self-guided walking tour of these beautiful grounds was great fun. The signage gave us a better understanding of how the Polynesia's lived in the past.

It is the biggest Marae. The location is also very nice, on the one side the seaside and on the other the mountains! Historical background of the Marae is also well presented!

The religious history of the islands is all here. Raitea is called the Sacred Island and this is the site that gave it that name. This is a memorable part of our visit.

It is said the great migration of the Maori of New Zealand commenced from Marae Taputapuatea. It was worth the visit to this sacred place.it certainly has a presence. Caught a island bus from the village a bit of a journey however you are treated to a good view of the island and that in itself is well worth it! treated to fruit tasting from locals on arrival . Very peaceful and picturesque place. Historical billboards tell the story in French and English around the area.