Lelepa Island and Chief Roi Mata's Domain

Lelepa is a small island just off the northwest coast of Efate, reached by a short boat trip from Mangaliliu village. The island and its waters form part of Chief Roi Mata's Domain, the country's only World Heritage site.

Guided tours from Mangaliliu cover the rock-shelter where Roi Mata died, the burial site on neighbouring Artok (entered respectfully and reverentially), and the painted cave on Lelepa with its ancient drawings. Book in advance through a community-run guide — the village manages the site itself.

things to do sight
A story
Roi Mata was a powerful seventeenth-century paramount chief whose burial chamber on Artok Island was uncovered in 1967 with his retainers and wives buried alive beside him. The whole landscape — his residence, where he died, and his grave — was inscribed in 2008 as Vanuatu's first UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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