Haʻapai is one of Tonga’s island groups in the central Pacific Ocean.
The Haʻapai group contains about 51 islands, islets, reefs, and shoals, although only 17 of its islands are inhabited. It lies between Tonga’s Tongatapu group to the south and Vavaʻu to the north. Pangai, on Lifuka Island, serves as the administrative capital of Haʻapai District.
The group combines low coral islands with volcanic islands. Kao rises to about 1,046 metres, making it the highest point in Tonga, while nearby Tofua is an active volcano. Archaeologists have found Lapita cultural remains dating to around 1500 BC, showing that the islands were settled long before European voyages.
Haʻapai also appears in several famous exploration stories. Abel Tasman visited in 1643, James Cook stopped there in the 1770s, and Captain William Bligh reached Tofua shortly after the 1789 Mutiny on the Bounty. A common mix-up is treating Haʻapai as a separate country; it is an island group within the Kingdom of Tonga.