Nukulaelae
Tuvalu · 5 m
Description
Nukulaelae is the atoll where Christianity entered Tuvalu, a mission teacher having been put ashore here in 1861, and it is also where the Peruvian slave ships did their worst work two years later, taking away a large part of the population to the guano islands of the Pacific coast. Almost none came back. Today about three hundred people live on Fangaua islet, the lagoon is shallow and clear, coconut crabs are hunted on the outer motu, and 1863 is remembered in the island's own account of what happened rather than in any monument to it.
Length of stay
Recommended length of stay: 2 to 5 days (optimal 3 days)
Travel season
Best time to visit: June – September
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Highlights
- Nukulaelae lagoon and its narrow rim
- Fangaua islet and the single village
- Story of the 1863 Peruvian slave raid
- Landing place of the mission teacher of 1861
- Niuoku and the outer motu of the ring
- Coconut crabs on the uninhabited islets
- Ocean-side beaches of the eastern rim
- Lagoon fishing from outrigger canoes
- Seabird roosts of the empty motu
- Ship day at the lagoon anchorage (monthly)