Niuafo Ou Thermal Vents

Niuafo'ou Thermal Vents on the remote volcanic island of Niuafo'ou, the northernmost island of Tonga, lie on one of the most active volcanic islands in the Pacific, whose frequent eruptions throughout the twentieth century forced complete evacuations of the island's population and whose crater lake, connected to the sea by underground passages, hosts the remarkable megapode bird that buries its eggs in the geothermally warmed volcanic soil to incubate them without parental brooding. The bicarbonate geothermal water released by the island's volcanic vents creates natural thermal pools used by the small population of Niuafo'ou, which numbers only a few hundred inhabitants who resettled the island after the last major eruption, in a bathing tradition as elemental as the island's dramatic geological setting. Access to Niuafo'ou requires a special permit and an infrequent boat or flight connection, making its thermal vents among the most genuinely remote accessible geothermal experiences in the Pacific.