Not to miss

Fakaofo

Named Bowditch Island by an American expedition in 1841, Fakaofo, with 62 islets, is not the biggest of the three atolls, but it has the highest population, at around 580. Fakaofo has three churches to cater for its Protestant and Catholic inhabitants. Shady Fale Island is the major settlement.

Some families have moved to adjacent Fenuafala to relieve some of the enormous population pressure. There's so little land that Fakaofo's domestic pig population is forced to live on the reef. The traditional village hall has a coral slab personifying the god Tui Tokelau still standing outside.

Atafu

Dubbed Duke of York Island by its first European visitor, British commodore John Byron, Atafu is the smallest and northernmost of Tokelau's three atolls. Its 42 islets measure a grand total of 3.5 sq km (1.3 sq mi), and the tiny lagoon is 17 sq km (6.5 sq mi); the population is around 500.

Protestant Atafu is the most traditional of the three atolls, with rationed alcohol sales and a greater reliance on old-style dugout canoes. Thanks to ample building wood, the island also has more kanava (traditional houses), but they are increasingly being replaced by cyclone-proof housing.

Atafu

Atafu is the smallest and most traditional of Tokelau's three atolls. Protestant fervour means there are rationed alcohol sales and a greater reliance on old-style dugout canoes. The island also has more traditional houses, largely due to its prized supply of building wood, kanava.

Nukunonu

Nukunonu has 24 islets and was named Duke of Clarence Island by Captain Edwards of HMS Pandora in 1791, while he was searching for HMS Bounty mutineers. It's the largest of Tokelau's three atolls and has the largest lagoon; it's traditionally said to be blessed with an abundance of pandanus trees for weaving. The other main feature of note here is the extremely pragmatic village hall - a cargo shed.

Fakaofo

Having dominated the other two atolls in the 'Tokelau Wars' of the 18th century, Fakaofa still refers to itself as 'the Chiefly Island'. It has a prime example of a traditional village hall, with a coral slab personifying the ancient Polynesian god Tui Tokelau still standing outside.

Its 62 islets don't make it the biggest of Tokelau's three atolls, but it has the highest population, at around 580. There are also three churches to cater to the atoll's Protestant and Catholic inhabitants.