Tiputa Pass
Dolphins and sharks.
Frenchytahiti — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa — CC BY 2.0 · Olivier Bruchez — CC BY-SA 2.0 · User: (WT-shared) Tensaibuta at wts wikivoyage — CC BY-SA 4.0 · kajikawa — CC BY 3.0 · kajikawa — CC BY 3.0
Rangiroa is the largest atoll in the Tuamotu archipelago of French Polynesia and one of the largest atolls in the world, about 355 km north-east of Tahiti. Its name means «vast sky» in the Tuamotuan language. The atoll is a long ring of small islets and sand strips around an enormous inner lagoon, about 80 km long, so wide that from one side you cannot see the other. About 2,500 people live here, and the main village is Avatoru in the north-west. Rangiroa is famous for diving: through the Tiputa and Avatoru passes the ocean rushes into the lagoon with the tide, carrying dolphins, sharks, giant manta rays and colourful fish, making it one of the best-known dive sites in the world. Dolphins are often seen leaping in Tiputa Pass from the shore. The lagoon also holds the «Blue Lagoon», a shallow lagoon within the great lagoon, and «pink sands» on its far edges. Beaches are free, while diving and boat trips are paid. Rangiroa is about an hour by plane from Papeete, and the water is warm and clear all year.
Dolphins and sharks.
Shallow water.
Far edges of the lagoon.
Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia
By plane from Papeete in about an hour.
They are often seen in Tiputa Pass.