Wallis & Futuna · WF

Lake Lalolalo

Lake Lalolalo is the most striking inland sight on Wallis (Uvea), the main island of the French territory of Wallis and Futuna. A volcanic crater lake of almost perfect circular form, it sits in the southwest of the island, a short drive from the capital Mata-Utu, and is the largest and deepest of the seven lakes that dot this low, reef-ringed island. About 400 to 450 metres across and ringed by sheer forested cliffs, Lalolalo is a place to look at rather than to enter: the walls drop abruptly into dark, deep water, and access is deliberately difficult. Part natural wonder, part sacred site wrapped in legend and wartime mystery, it offers one of the most memorable panoramas in Western Polynesia.