France – Taputapuātea

Just when we thought the Islands of Tahiti couldn’t possibly get anymore special than they already are, that’s exactly what happens. After a long-held campaign, the Taputapuatea marae, a sacred site on the island of Raiatea, was officially deemed a UNESCO World Heritage Site on Sunday, July 23. The Taputapuatea marae, a source of power and spiritual strength in nature, marks the first cultural site to be recognized as a World Heritage Site within French Polynesia.

As World Heritage Sites are places of significant cultural symbolism, the Taputapuatea marae is an ancient, natural landscape, a spiritual place where traditional ceremonies were once performed. The classification of the Taputapuatea marae as a UNESCO World Heritage site provides the Polynesian people with new, unifying opportunity to share their traditions, and ancient heritage to the wider world.

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