Ha-apai Hot Springs

Ha-apai Hot Springs are situated on Lifuka Island in the Ha'apai Island Group of Tonga, in the central archipelago of the last remaining Polynesian monarchy, whose low-lying coral islands stretch across a broad expanse of the South Pacific between Fiji and Samoa. Captain James Cook visited the Ha'apai group in 1777 and was received with such warmth and hospitality by the Tongan chiefs that he named Tonga the 'Friendly Islands' — a reputation for generous welcome that continues to define Tongan tourism today. The Ha'apai Group is one of Tonga's most pristine and least-visited island groups, offering exceptional snorkeling, sailing, and whale watching opportunities in the waters where humpback whales migrate through Tonga's marine sanctuary annually from July to October to calve and nurse their young in the sheltered lagoons between the islands. The thermal springs here draw on geothermal activity associated with the Tonga Trench — one of the deepest oceanic trenches on Earth and a zone of intense tectonic and volcanic activity — providing bicarbonate mineral bathing in a setting of remarkable Pacific natural beauty and genuine Polynesian cultural warmth.