The Gambier Islands — known collectively as the Mangareva archipelago — lie some 1,600 km southeast of Tahiti, making them one of the most remote inhabited places in French Polynesia. Sixteen volcanic islands and coral atolls are scattered across a vast lagoon, and the largest island, Mangareva, gives the group its name. The capital, Rikitea, is a quiet village of around 1,100 people, presided over by an unexpectedly grand Catholic cathedral that was built by islanders under missionary direction in the nineteenth century.
The islands are best known for their black pearls — Mangareva's lagoon produces some of the most prized in the world, and pearl farms are the main industry. The waters are exceptionally clear, and the surrounding reef offers world-class diving largely untouched by mass tourism. Visitors who make the effort to reach Mangareva tend to find a peaceful, genuinely remote Pacific experience — far removed from the tourist circuits of Bora Bora or Moorea.