L'Île-des-Pins (French pronunciation: [lil de pɛ̃]) is a commune in the South Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. L'Île-des-Pins is made up of the Isle of Pines, the smaller Kôtomo Island, and several islets around these two, as well as the distant island of Walpole, which is located almost 150 kilometres (80 nautical miles) to the east. The Isle of Pines and adjacent islands are located to the south of New Caledonia's mainland. At 16,830 km from Paris, L'Île-des-Pins is further from the French capital than any other commune of France. The settlement of Vao, on the Isle of Pines, is the administrative centre of the commune of L'Île-des-Pins.
L'Île-des-Pins | |
|---|---|
 Baie de Saint-Joseph in L'Île-des-Pins. | |
 Location of the commune (in red) within New Caledonia | |
Location of L'Île-des-Pins  | |
| Coordinates: 22°37′00″S 167°29′00″E / 22.6167°S 167.4833°E | |
| Country | France |
| Sui generis collectivity | New Caledonia |
| Province | South Province |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2020–2026) | Christophe Vakié[1] |
Area 1 | 152.3 km2 (58.8 sq mi) |
| Population (2019 census)[2] | 2,037 |
| • Density | 13/km2 (35/sq mi) |
| Ethnic distribution | |
| • 2019 census | Kanaks 93.96% Europeans 2.65% Wallisians and Futunans 0.44% Mixed 1.77% Other 1.18% |
| Time zone | UTC 11:00 |
| INSEE/Postal code | 98809 /98832 |
| Elevation | 0–262 m (0–860 ft) (avg. 20 m or 66 ft) |
| 1 New Caledonia Land Register (DITTT) data, which exclude lakes and ponds larger than 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) as well as the estuaries of rivers. | |
L'Île-des-Pins is one of the main tourist attractions in New Caledonia. The Isle of Pines itself is nicknamed l'île la plus proche du paradis ("the closest island to Paradise"). L'Île-des-Pins can be reached by boat or plane from Nouméa, the capital of New Caledonia. It is renowned for the intense blue colors of its waters and for the ancient pine tree groves spread throughout the Isle of Pines and the neighboring islands.
After the Paris Commune (1871), about 2,800 Parisian insurgents were deported to L'Île-des-Pins, a part of whose territory was turned into a penal settlement where the convicts lived for several years.
In 2005 L'Île-des-Pins gained attention when season 5 of French reality show Les Aventuriers de Koh-Lanta ("The Adventurers of Koh Lanta"), the French version of Survivor, was set on several small islands off the Isle of Pines.
References
edit- ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
- ^ Population, ménages et logement par commune, en 2019, Institut de la statistique et des études économiques Nouvelle-Calédonie
External links
edit
- Audio interview (in English) with Isle of Pines resident available at ULiveWhere.com
- Jane's Isle of Pines Page
- Map of L'Île-des-Pins
Île des Pins travel guide from Wikivoyage
.png){kind=small} | This New Caledonian location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |