Bora Bora in the Leeward Islands

Sofitel Motu in Bora Bora with Mount Otemanu in background
Photo at: tensaibuta, Creative Commons

Bora Bora is an island within the Leeward Islands of the French Polynesia in the Pacific Ocean and is located about 140 miles northwest from Papeete. The island is completely surrounded by a barrier reef and a lagoon, which makes it a vacationing paradise for holiday travelers and tourists. At the island’s center, one can find remnants from a volcano that is now extinct and rises with two peaks, Mount Otemanu and Mount Pahia, where the highest point is 2,385 feet high. The original name of Bora Bora was given from the Tahitian language, which is better translated as Pora Pora.
Bora Bora was first sighted in 1722, but then located again in 1769 and settled in 1777. Today, tourism is a big part of the island, where many resorts have been constructed on the small island that surrounds the lagoon of the Bora Bora. The first bungalows over the water were built about 30 years ago on stilts by the Hotel Bora Bora. Now the overwater bungalows have become a standard feature for most of the resorts on the island.
Most of the island’s tourist destinations are centered around aquatic activities, but there are still some attractions to see on land. Some of the aquatic activities include scuba diving and snorkeling around or in the lagoon. There are many species of stingrays and sharks that live in the water, and some of the diving operators actually offer tourists the chance to dive with the manta rays or feed the sharks.