Pora Pora

Pora Pora, or Bora Bora, is a high volcanic island in the western Society Islands. Mount Otemanu rises above bays and a lagoon enclosed by a barrier reef; the Teavanui passage gives access through the reef on the western side. Its people built ceremonial marae and maintained relationships with neighboring islands across the sea. In the eighteenth century the island’s warriors extended their power into nearby Raiatea. Dutch navigator Jacob Roggeveen sighted Bora Bora in 1722, and James Cook sailed near it in 1769 during his first Pacific voyage.