Haʻamonga ʻa Maui Trilithon

About this place

Haʻamonga ʻa Maui is a huge stone gateway of three blocks of coral limestone, in a green clearing among trees in eastern Tongatapu. Two standing pillars carry a stone lintel, and some call it the Stonehenge of the Pacific. It was built around 1200 AD under King Tuʻitātui, the eleventh Tuʻi Tonga, in honour of his two sons, and was probably a gateway to the royal compound. It is 5.2 m high and 5.8 m long, the visible part of each pillar weighs 30 to 40 tonnes, and deep sockets cut into the pillar tops hold the lintel. The name means the burden of Maui, and legend says the hero Maui brought the stones in a giant canoe, as they were too heavy for mortals. You walk around the gateway on the grass, seeing the pitted coral stone close up and the lintel above your head. Nearby is a stone seat where the king is said to have leaned his back to guard against attack from behind. The spot is quiet among the trees. The trilithon is about 16 km in a straight line east of Nukuʻalofa and 8 km from the royal tombs at Muʻa. It is open and free. Do not climb the stones.