Where to Find Caves in the Cook Islands
It’s not just all about sunbathing in the Cook Islands! While the Cooks might be known for its glorious sandy beaches and turquoise lagoons, there’s a whole subterranean world that not a lot of people know about. Some of the Cook Islands’ Southern Group are uplifted coral atolls mostly made of limestone (what locals call “makatea”). With that, it has taken thousands – in some cases millions – of years for caves to form within the islands. See which ones you should visit, right here, in this list of the best caves in the Cook Islands!
Cook Islands Caves Checklist:
- Sturdy closed shoes (no flip-flops!)
- Insect repellent
- Swimwear
- NZ$30-$60 in cash per person for your guide
- Camera.
While we’re on the subject, don’t forget to check out our Cook Islands Packing List.
1. Tuatini Cave – Mangaia
At the southern end of the Cook Islands’ second-largest island, Mangaia, there is what many believe to be the grandest cave on the island. If you can get a tour here, you won’t be sorry. Tuatini Cave is extensive and largely untouched, characterised by magnificent stalagmites, stalactites and crystalline floors, walls and ceilings. The local guides will show you a vast amount of the cave, tell stories of their ancestors (showing you cooking instruments and fish hooks that remain) and point out prehistoric crabs that now live here.
Location: Mangaia. Check out the 5 Best Caves on Mangaia for locations and advice on how to get a tour there.
© Taniera - Cook Islands Tourism2. Vai Nauri – Mitiaro
By far the best swimming cave in the Cook Islands, Vai Nauri holds a deep pool with clear deep blue waters and striking limestone features. This cave on the island of Mitiaro has a set of steps down to the pool or you can clamber around the pool and jump off a 3m (10ft) outcrop into the deep waters. Try to get there on weekdays when the kids are in school to experience the eerie silence of this cave as you’re floating under a canopy of dripping stalactites. It’s also one of the few caves in the Cook Islands that you don’t need a guide to visit.
Location: Mitiaro. Check out the 5 Best Caves on Mitiaro for locations.
© Cook Islands Tourism3. Anatakitaki Caves (Kopeka Cave) – Atiu
By far the most popular caves to visit on the island of Aitu, Anatakitaki Caves are a series of three caves with awesome limestone stalactites and home to a rare and fascinating bird. Join a local guide for an experience through the dense rainforest with jagged coral rock. Bring your swimwear for the cave pool and put on your best bird-spotting hat for seeing the kopeka, a swiftlet unique to Atiu that uses sonar just like a bat! Your guide will tell you more about these amazing birds and their unique abilities (or you could check out the 20 Animals & Birds Unique to the Cook Islands.
Location: Atiu. Check out the 5 Best Caves on Atiu for locations and advice on how to get a tour there.
© Cook Islands Tourism4. Vai Tango – Mauke
A short walk from a nearby village, Vai Tanga Cave is the easiest (and best) cave to visit on Mauke. There’s a 500m (550-yard) trail through gardens and jungle to this popular swimming hole with a platform to make getting in (and out) a breeze.
Location: Mauke. Check out the 9 Best Caves on Mauke for locations.
© Taniera - Cook Islands Tourism5. Rimu Rau Burial Cave – Atiu
One of many burial caves across the Cook Islands, Rimu Rau on Atiu is not only the easiest to access (although it still requires going down a tight pothole), but the easiest to find guided tours for. Here, you’ll see well preserved skeletal remains, adding to the spooky atmosphere. Although it’s not certain what caused the approximately 30 bodies to be buried in this cave, your guide will tell you the opposing legends. Note that maybe this is not the cave to visit if you’re claustrophobic… See more experiences on the island of Atiu in our 20 Best Things to Do on Atiu.
Location: Atiu. Check out the 5 Best Caves on Atiu for locations and advice on how to get a tour there.
© Cook Islands Tourism6. Vai Marere – Mitiaro
The only sulphur pool in the Cook Islands, Vai Marere is known among the locals of Mitiaro for its healing minerals. Bathe in the healing waters yourself by finding this easy-to-miss cave pool after a 10-minute walk from Mangarei village. It looks small from the roadside, but as you go down the concrete stairs, the cave opens up into a relatively large cavern with stalactites hanging from the ceiling. The water is a little murkier than the other cave pools mentioned on this list of caves on Mitiaro, but that might just be the sulphur content. Find more experiences on the island in the 15 Best Things to Do on Mitiaro.
Location: Mitiaro. Check out the 5 Best Caves on Mitiaro for locations.
© Taniera - Cook Islands Tourism7. Te Rua Rere Cave – Mangaia
Contending with Tuatini Cave (see point #1 above) as the best cave on Mangaia, Te Rua Rere Cave is definitely worth exploring if you can fit it in. Your local guide will take you from a magnificent chamber, with stalactites and stalagmites and distinct patches of crystals that glitter in the torchlight, deep into the narrow tunnels. It’s an adventurous journey of scrambling over rocks, clinging to overhangs and avoiding drops. See more Mangaia experiences in the 15 Best Things to Do on Mangaia.
Location: Mangaia. Check out the 5 Best Caves on Mangaia for locations and how to get a tour there.
© Taniera - Cook Islands Tourism8. Vai Tamaroa – Mitiaro
Vai Tamaroa on Mitiaro requires a little walking to get to but is well worth the hike. Spot the white-painted sign for the 1985 Boys Brigade from the roadside (it was the project that set up this trail) and begin! The trail is easy enough to follow without a guide if you pay attention as you scramble over grassy makatea inland. Allow around 20 minutes of walking to finally reach Vai Tamaroa, a 10m (30ft) deep circular hole with a pool filling most of it. Be prepared for a bit of climbing in and out.
Location: Mitiaro. Check out the 5 Best Caves on Mitiaro for locations.
© Taniera - Cook Islands Tourism9. Stomach Rock (Kopupooki Beach) – Mauke
Hidden away on Kopupooki Beach on Mauke is an open cave with a swimming pool inside! Once on the beach, walk down the beach/reef to your left when facing the ocean. Go around the outcrop and you’ll find a small cave (hence the name “Stomach Rock“) with a pool inside, ideal for a swim! You can only reach this cave at low tide. Make sure you’re out of there before the tide comes in! See what else you can do on Mauke with our 15 Best Things to Do on Mauke.
Location: Mauke. Check out the 9 Best Caves on Mauke for locations.
© Taniera - Cook Islands Tourism10. Vai Moti – Mauke
This cave can also be found on Mauke on the way to the island’s famous Giant Banyan Tree (which you can learn more about in the 15 Best Things to Do on Mauke). From the roadside between Areora village and A’anga Beach, take a 15-minute trail to Vai Moti, a small cave with a swimming hole where you a take a quick dip!
Location: Mauke. Check out the 9 Best Caves on Mauke for locations and advice on how to get a tour there.
© Taniera - Cook Islands TourismMore Cave-Related Goodness in the Cook Islands
That’s it for our complete list of the best caves in the Cook Islands! Want to discover more stunning natural attractions? Try these:
- The Top 10 Natural Wonders in Rarotonga & the Cook Islands
- 10 Best Beaches in the Cook Islands
- Sightseeing in the Cook Islands: Top 10 Sights in the Cook Islands
Finally, find more items for the bucket list in the 101 Best Things to Do in the Cook Islands: The Ultimate List.
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