Rarotonga Island Info, Cook Islands

Avarua is the main town on Rarotonga and extends east from the airport. The coast along Avarua Town is rocky but a passage through the reef makes it ideal as a harbour for fishing boats and yachts. There are a few part-sandy beaches to the east of Avarua Town but swimming is restrictive.

Since Rarotonga is the youngest island in the Cook Islands southern group it is physically unlike its other volcanic neighbors where erosion and periodic submersions have reduced mountains to gentle hills. Rarotonga's central massif is the eroded remains of a once mighty volcanic pyramid whose crags now form sawtooth peaks and razorback ridges covered with tropical jungle. These are separated by streams running down steep valleys.