Fairly mountainous and surrounded by coral reefs, the archipelago´s largest and most populous island (with some 192,000 inhabitants) is its cultural and economic heart. On the northwest coast, its capital Papeete (pop. just under 27,000) is, to quote Tahiti Tourism´s own website “not the prettiest of towns,” but it does have some interesting corners, including the landscaped waterfront, the cathedral, the presidential palace, the Sunday-morning Papeete market, a pearl museum, and shops/handicrafts markets for jewelry made of elegant local black pearls as well as mother of pearl. Outside town you´ll find a wealth of gorgeous waterfalls and other ecotourism opportunities in lush valleys along with black- and white-sand beaches such as Lafayette, Pointe Venus, Teahupo'o (above, where various surfing championships as well as the this year's Olympics surfing events were held), and Vaiava (aka PK18).
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