Nan Madol

It's one of the coolest and oldest world UNESCO sites I've seen. To get there, it's some sort of adventure and well worth the hike. There's also nobody there, so not touristy at all.

Absolutely awesome. It feels like an Indiana Jones movie. Visit at low tide, but even then you will need to cross some water. It is 'under new management' which means the entrance fee is now $25 and $3 for parking

You need to cross a ankle deep river (at best) because the bridge broke so wear sandals. You also need to pay $3 then $1 to the respective owners whose land you pass. We couldn’t find them but according to my guide you still need to track them down to pay them, so just holler if they’re not out. You can hire a guide/private taxi for $85-100 but it’s not hard to find and not much is known about the history, so I would recommend renting a car for $55-65 if you can find one.

Nan Madol Ruins, Ponhpei, FSM A friend told us about this before we came to Ponhpei, and we did a little look around online finding VERY little about it. ON arrival, very little more was to be found beyond "we could take you by boat". Luckily a friend who had been in Ponhpei for 5 weeks had done the walk in and gave us the run down. Finding the place by yourself is a bit of an adventure LOL. We rented a car to drive aorund the island and vivist he ruins. The ruins are well worth the time to visit. They are amazing. Think Tikal, Copan Ruinas or Machu Pichu in the Americas, but on the ocean in Oceania. Truly amazing structure and construction for the age and the mystery surrounding them adds to the mystique. It is very obvous that UNESCO and Aid Organisations came in and did the 'Star Trek' "we'll huild you a visistor centre, and paths and 'imporove the site'. They came they huilt, they did the openning ceremony and took the photos, and left it in their wake. Obviously nothing has been done to the site or amentities since they walked away. You can see the run down toilets, the closed and decaying visirtor centre and log bridges that used to be between the islands. Some local tour guides are trying to keep the most imporant ones nailed together, but this site is disappearing again under the jungle. Recommend you plan to spend and hour or two wandering around is plenty of time for most people. We did the drive down from Kolonia in about an 1hr and 20mins down east coast, spent 2 hours, then drove back up the west coast in just over an hour. Couple of things: 1. The site is no longer maintined by anyone, it is very obvious. Some of the bridges have been makeshift repaired, we reckon by tour guides who need to keep the way open for their business. 2. Wear sturdy footwear. I only wore my wetsuit boots from diving thinking we'd be a lot more in the water. The paths are made of coral, and the soles weren't thick enough. Chacos or Tevas recommended. 3. When making the crossing to the main island, a guide warned us to shuffle our feet especially at low tide as stingrays do come along the canals to feed. 4. You want to be reasonably fit to do the walk in along the path that has not been well kept, and it's a bit of a hike in and out on a rough, unkept path

Nan Madol is a very interesting megalithic archeological site built around 1180 and serves as the Saudeleur seat of power until 1628. The site itself is very inspiring and the short trek through the mangrove forest is equally exciting.

This must-see attraction is a short hike from the parking area, but it involves crossing several poorly constructed footbridges. Mosquito repellent is highly recommended, as is proper footwear (flip-flops are okay, sandals are best).

It would be extremely difficult today to raise 30-40 Ton, uncut, long basalt columns 40ft up.. without cracking also. That's using multiple powerful cranes, which I think they didn't have. And there's also question of transportation from miles away. And then there's another question of how it was quarried from stop a mountain? Someone ask ELON MUSK to solve.

A cool archaeological area. The ruins are from 500-1200 AD. It is amazing to think about how they were constructed. This is a must see if you are on Pohnpei.