Hike the popular Fara’ura valley in Tahiti
(Family-friendly version to the first waterfall only)
There are three great reasons to hike Tahiti’s stunning Fara’ura valley: the lush tropical vegetation, multiple waterfalls and numerous swimming spots. It’s a relatively short hike that’s absolutely worth it just for the lanscape. The relatively flat hike to the first waterfall is great to do with older children.
Essential Information
Where: Faraura Valley, Hitia’a, Tahiti’s east coast
When: Only attempt during good weather. Avoid rainy season from November to April
How long: 4 hours round trip to the first waterfall
Distance: Roughly 6km return to the first waterfall
Difficulty: Medium
Why do it? Stunning valley with lots of waterfalls and swimming spots
Before you go – Check the weather and let someone know you’re going
The east side of Tahiti is the rainy side of the island and it’s not unusual for it to be sunny on the west side and raining on the east. Make sure you check the weather forecast before leaving for the hike, and if it’s raining, don’t attempt it. Tahiti’s valleys, while beautiful, can be very dangerous. Just last year, a hiker had to be rescued from this valley and in 2023, a French soldier died there during a military exercise after after falling down a waterfall.
Use common sense and make sure you let someone know where you’re going and when you should be back. Be aware that there is no phone reception in Fara’ura Valley.
Where is it? How do I get there?
This hike is located in Hitia’a o te ra, on Tahiti’s east coast.
Car/Taxi: The easiest way to get there is to drive – it takes about 45 minutes to get from Papeete to Hitia’a o te ra. When you get to the village, look out for the Church of the sacred heart of Hitia’a (Eglise du Sacré coeur de Hitia’a), a big blue Catholic church on the ocean side that’s hard to miss. Turn down the road to the right on the mountain side directly opposite the church. If you don’t have a 4×4, you may want to park the car around here somewhere, as the road is unsealed – just add 20-30 minutes extra walking time to the trailhead. With a 4×4 you can drive all the way down the road, pass the residential houses to the trailhead.
Bus: *Weekdays only from about 6am – 5pm* From the bus terminal next to the Papeete Town Hall, take bus marked 31 TARAVAO (EST). It’ll take over an hour to get from Papeete to Hitia’a o te ra by bus. When you get to the main village, look out for the Church of the sacred heart of Hitia’a (Eglise du Sacré coeur de Hitiaa), a big blue Catholic church on the ocean side that’s hard to miss. When you see it, press the stop button on the bus and cross the road to the mountain side directly opposite the church. Walk down the unsealed road, pass all the residential houses and you’ll get to the trailhead in 20 to 30 minutes.
How long is the Fara’ura Valley hike? Is it dangerous?
It takes about 2 hours to hike to the first waterfall, and about the same on the way back. The first half of the hike is flat and follows a path through tropical gardens and then through thick vegetation – but it is quite easy to follow and includes two river crossings. The second half of the hike is where it becomes a bit more difficult – there’s a lot of river crossings and the path is not always clear. There’s a lot of clambering over rocks (can get slippery!) and at a few points we lost the path – but if you keep following the river you’ll find the trail sooner or later – and it’s part of the adventure!
This short hike to the first waterfall is pretty safe. It’s flat, and the most dangerous parts are walking over the rocks and crossing the river – the highest the river got was about mid-thigh on me, but the current was never strong and the crossings were easy, even for my six year old son.
Good to know: Info & Tips for the Fara’ura Waterfall hike
- Although we only hiked to the first waterfall, there are three popular waterfalls to hike to on this trail, icluding a beautiful double waterfall. If you plan on hiking past the first waterfall, I’d definitely recommend getting a guide to show you the way – it’s not obvious where the trail goes and there’s some steep ascents.
- Start the hike early to make the most out of all the swimming spots and pack planty of water and food. When we went we took some baguettes, pâté, retia (a Tahitian snack made of coconut milk, sugar and starch) and pomelo.
- Wear long pants! Especially for kids. We made the mistake of hiking in shorts and for a long section of the hike the vegetation was thick and spiky and we got scratches all up our legs. We survived, but it would’ve been nice to avoid all the scratches.
- Wear suitable shoes! Forget the usual hiking shoes and go with hiking sandals or shoes that are ok getting wet and have good grip during the many river crossings.
- I recommend this hike for kids ages 6 and older because it’s fairly long and requires a lot of climbing through rivers and over rocks.
Our experience
We drove to Hitia’a and then all the way to the trailhead in our little car. The road into the valley was rough though! I wouldn’t recommend driving along this road in a car without 4×4 capabilities (even though we did).
Along the way we saw this sign, which says that the road is private and forbidden to hikers – there’s a notice on the bottom from the local town hall as well. But if you look closely it’s from 2023 and the hike is open. We asked some of the local residents and they confirmed this and told us to go ahead and park the car right at the end of the road, where the trailhead is.
At the trailhead you cross the river right away and head into a beautiful tropical garden – the trail at the beginning is fairly well maintained.
After about 20 minutes of walking down this nice wide trail, the vegetation started getting thicker and bushier and the trail was skinnier. It was still pretty easy to follow though. There were a lot of plants with little thorns on them along the way though, and our shins and ankles got lots of scratches from them.
About an hour into the hike, the trail changes from bush to the open river. The trail then crosses the river many times before you get to the waterfall, and it’s sometimes difficult to find the trail but there are stone towers that mark the direction. There’s a nice little section along the river that goes the a bamboo forest. My son had lots of fun finding the stone towers and leading the way along the river! He also loved the frequent river crossings and swimming in the river along the way.
During the second part of the hike you get to glimpse quite a few different waterfalls in the distance – the valley is chockfull of them. After a long time spent crossing many times and swimming along the way, we ended up at the first major waterfall, called the Tapatea waterfall which juts out of a canyon and the natural pool below is the perfect spot for a dip. There were actually two waterfalls at the end of the hike – we weren’t expecting that and it was a nice surprise!
We had this spot all to ourselves and didn’t see any other hikers along the way. In the end it took us three hours to get to the waterfall because we went really slow and made lots of stops along the way. Overall, really enjoyed this hike and would recommend for families with older kids.
Hope this guide to hiking Fara’ura valley was useful! If you’re looking for another family-friendly hike to do in Tahiti check out this post:
Hike to the ‘King’s bath’: An easy, family-friendly trail on Tahiti’s west side
Tiare
Tiare is a successful freelance writer and travel blogger, focusing on French Polynesia. Her work has been featured in National Geographic and The Guardian.
This travel blog is is her newest project with her twin sister. Their mission is to give everyone the confidence to explore the beautiful islands of French Polynesia.
Tiare has been living in Tahiti for the last six years.