Tahiti, known as “The Gathering Place”, is the largest and most populated island, and is the starting point for all in te rna ti ona l tra ve ler s. I nt ern at ion al fl ig hts l and a t Fa a’ a A ir por t in th e capital city of Papeete. Upon arrival, visitors receive a typical Ta hi tia n display of hospitality – a memorable welcome with fragrant Tiare flowers and Tahitian music.

Tahiti is a figure-eight shaped island with a larger part, known as Tahiti Nui (which means big) and a smaller part called Tahiti Iti (little). With lush green peaks reaching more than 7,300 feet, its scenery is dramatic. Cascading waterfalls and rippling pools in the junglelike interior provide a striking contrast to the black and white sand beaches and turquoise lagoons of the island’s perimeter. A circle island tour (about 70 miles) is a great way to get acquainted with the island, including highlights at the Tahiti and Her Islands Museum, the Paul Gauguin Art Museum and Botanical Gardens and the Marae Arahurahu (an ancient Tahitian outdoor temple). In the center of town, Le Marché, the municipal market, is not to be missed. The first floor of this indoor market has an abundant supply of tropical fruits and vegetables and fresh fish from the lagoon. The second floor is dedicated to Tahitian art and crafts, and boasts the largest selection of colorful pareus (sarongs) anywhere.

The mystique of Tahiti as a tropical island paradise began when the first European visitors returned to their countries with glowing reports of a gentle climate, friendly natives, abundant food and uninhibited love under the swaying palms. Bouganville, Cook, the Bounty mutineers and even the missionaries helped to perpetuate this image.

Poets, painters, writers, whalers, traders, beachcombers, drifters, seamen, voyagers, explorers, adventurers, filmmakers and South Seas characters spread the fame of Tahiti far and wide. The legend of Tahiti as an earthly paradise has filled a void for many dreamers for over 200 years.

The Maohi ancestors of today's Polynesians were well-established in Tahiti and all the neighboring islands. The Marquesan island of Ua Huka contains an archaeological site dating from 300 A.D. Research reveals evidence of man's presence in Huahine as early as 850 A.D. Historians believe the Polynesians may have originated in Indonesia and spread eastward in two great waves as a result of population pressures.

Although the origin of the Polynesian people is still unclear, they believed themselves to be direct descendants of the Sky-father and the Earth-mother. Tahitian oral history tells of Ta'aroa, a benevolent god who created an entire retinue of gods and demi-gods, who were in constant communication with man.

Long before Captain Samuel Wallis sailed into Tahiti's Matavai Bay in 1767 and claimed the island for the King of England, Tahiti was settled by a dynasty of Maohi kings, the Hui Arii. Polynesian society was in full power in Tahiti when nomad tribes were still wandering and fighting throughout Europe. In addition to the colorful myths and legends of gods and heroes, the Tahitians had a well-developed hierarchy of social and religious chiefs, well-defined customs, a complicated code of court etiquette, sophisticated dances and drama and high standards of craftsmanship.

In this age of jet travel, the possibility of escaping to the romantic South Seas has become a reality for voyagers from many countries. Tahiti and Her Islands still hold the enchantment that mesmerized Melville, Darwin, Zane Grey, Somerset Maugham and Nordhoff and Hall.

Tahiti is still a place of romance, legend and magic. Visitors can still enjoy landfalls unchanged since the voyage of the great navigators; beaches and turquoise waters as beautiful as Robert Louis Stevenson observed from his yacht; welcoming faces and colors as vivid as Paul Gauguin painted them. And such exquisite beauty that even the most taciturn of visitors agree that Tahiti is a state of mind.