All activities / Sea Kayaking / Canoeing / Pohnpei
Sea Kayaking / Canoeing in Pohnpei
The largest and greenest island of the Federated States of Micronesia, a rainforested volcanic dome ringed by a wide barrier reef and dozens of passes. Home to a quiet, uncrowded dive scene, a resident manta cleaning station, and the megalithic ruined city of Nan Madol.
Why here
Nan Madol is the only ancient city in the Pacific built out over the sea, and the best way into it is by water. Off the southeast coast of Pohnpei, on and around Temwen Island, some ninety-two artificial islets were raised from the reef out of stacked columns of black basalt, laid like giant logs into walls up to eight metres high. Built by the Saudeleur dynasty from around the twelfth century as a ceremonial and political capital, it earned the name Venice of the Pacific for the tidal canals that run between its islets. UNESCO inscribed it as a World Heritage site in 2016. You reach the core islets, including the royal mortuary compound of Nandauwas, by paddling or boating in on a high tide through mangrove channels and open canals, threading between basalt walls with the jungle closing overhead. It is a quiet, humid, half-drowned ruin that almost no visitors see, as haunting from a kayak as any temple in Asia.
Best months
Access is tide-dependent: the canals and approach channels need enough water, so trips run around high tide, and a guide is required as the site sits on customary land with an access fee. The paddling itself is flat-water and gentle, suitable for beginners, through mangrove channels and between the ruin walls. Pohnpei is very wet, so expect rain and mud in any month; wear reef-safe footwear and bring sun and insect cover. Go with a local operator who arranges the landowner permission.
Getting there & around
Nan Madol lies on the southeast side of Pohnpei near Temwen Island, reached by road to Madolenihmw and then by water. Because the site sits on customary land, entry requires a fee and permission arranged through a guide, so book the trip with a local operator rather than turning up. Trips are timed to a suitable high tide for the canals. Fly into Kolonia on the Island Hopper and base near town; the operator handles transfers, permits and the paddle or boat in.
Skill levels: beginner, intermediate
Schools & guides (1)
Pohnpei Surf Club
OutfitterPohnpei Surf Club is the island's main dive and adventure operator, based at the Mangrove Bay Hotel about ten minutes from Kolonia airport, with its own dock and lagoon-front rooms. It guides boat diving on Pohnpei's barrier-reef passes and walls, where reef sharks, trevally, barracuda and a resident manta cleaning station are the draws, and it also runs the island's surfing, and boat and land tours to the Nan Madol ruins and Ant Atoll.