Saleaula

Saleaula, Savai’i, Samoa

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Saleaula, on Savai’i Island in Samoa, is renowned for its dramatic lava fields formed by the 1905-1911 eruption of Mount Matavanu, which buried five villages including the original Saleaula under up to 400 feet of slow-moving pahoehoe and aa lava across over 100 square kilometers, though few lives were lost due to timely evacuations.

Today, a few resilient families have resettled on the stark black terrain now sprouting sparse volcanic vegetation, offering visitors guided walks past haunting ruins like the arched LMS Church steeple piercing the lava, the untouched "Virgin's Grave" of a nun encircled but spared by the flow, and dramatic coastal cliffs.

Accessible by a short hike from the main road near the coast, this eerie site blends geological wonder with Samoan history, where displaced villagers were resettled on Upolu, preserving the area's raw, otherworldly beauty as a testament to nature's power.​