A group of our cruiser friends decide to take a tour of Tanna. This beautiful island is famous for several things:
- Mt. Yasur which we will dedicate a blog post to
- The “World’s Largest Banyan Tree”
- Tanna’s Baha’i House of Worship
- John Frum’s cargo cult village (separate blog post)
We start our tour by driving below the majestic Mt. Yasur active volcano. This is the world’s most accessible live volcano and we plan to visit it up close and personal soon. It was so very interesting to see the change in the landscape. It went from lush green foliage to desolate lava land.
I was in awe of the volcano and its surroundings and cannot wait to share our adventure as we hike to the caldera.
The Fresh Market
We stop in Lenakel which is the “main town” in the southern tip of Tanna. We pick up some fresh produce at the market, local currency, and some SIM cards. I love how they make their baskets out of leaves and everything is locally harvested.
After a leisurely breakfast and shopping we hope back in our Ute and head to what they claim to be the “world’s largest banyan tree.” I will say it truly is a massive tree which spans across 200 meters and stands 80 meters tall.
World’s Largest Banyan Tree
Our guide walks us down a small, dirt path into the valley where the natural surroundings and undisturbed ecosystem send chills up your spine. All you hear are the birds in the trees, you smell the flora, and see the beauty.
The tree is located near the Leitouapam villages (there are two and they take turns giving tours) which is about 15 minutes from the town of Lenakel. You pay a $2000VT fee for the 30-45 minute tour.
Nobody really knows how old the tree is but rumors are that this tree was immense long before Captain Cook arrived in 1774.
Interesting enough, there are male and female banyan trees. Male trees grow as one large trunk whereas a female has one main trunk which then grows branches that grow out and descend to take root in the ground. These air branches can grow hundreds of meters wide, like our beauty below.
It looks like a lot of unique trees in the photos, but in reality it is one beautiful, old female tree with thousands of air branches that have embedded themselves into the ground to feed the entire tree.
Tanna Baha’i House of Worship
Baháʼí Houses of Worship are open to both Baháʼís and non-Baháʼís for prayer and reflection. All Baháʼí Houses of Worship have a round, nine-sided shape and are surrounded by nine pathways leading outwards and nine gardens. Baháʼí literature envisages Houses of Worship surrounded by a number of dependencies dedicated to social, humanitarian, educational, and scientific pursuits. There are currently 14 Baha’i Houses of Worship as of 2023.
The Tanna Baha’i House of Worship has no windows and now walls. As is custom, it has 9 doors (entryways) and 9 paths leading to unique gardens. It is truly a peaceful and breathtaking setting.
They select the locations based on peace and spiritual settings.
There are no priests and they welcome all religions into their sanctuary. It is said that only one house of worship is allowed in each continent. They also believe in total equality for men and women.
Here is a website for the Baha’i House of Worship in Vanuatu.
Our last stop is the very unique john Frum Cargo Cult Village. This required it’s own blog post so stay tuned and learn why they believe an American WWII veteran is believed to bring untold riches to this tiny village on Tanna.
Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events. This blog post occurred in early June. Learn more about the beautiful island of Tanna from our last blog post.