Monuriki is a tiny, completely uninhabited island situated off the coast of Viti Levu within Fiji’s Mamanuca Islands.
17.6097° S, 177.0337° E
This utterly secluded volcanic island boasts dazzlingly pale sand beaches, luscious lagoons, and a unique dry forest habitat, home to the endangered Fiji crested iguana – a species actively being conserved on the island.
Historically significant as one of the first Fijian islands sighted by Captain William Bligh, following the mutiny on HMS Bounty on 28th April 1789, Monuriki offers a glimpse into a distinct ecosystem alongside an iconic touch of dazzling Hollywood history.
The coral and volcanic landscape of Monuriki is the smallest and southernmost of the three islets in the Mamanuca Islands.
With a modest length of just 1.15 kilometres and a width of only 600 metres (m), the island is mountainous, reaching a maximum height of 178 m in the southeast.
Monuriki was famously featured as the anonymous island in Robert Zemeckis’ survival drama film, Cast Away, starring Tom Hanks – some tourists and travel agents now refer to the location as ‘Cast Away Island’ as it has become a major tourist attraction and a must-visit pilgrimage for avid movie fans worldwide.
As the sole survivor of a terrifying plane crash, Tom Hanks’ iconic character, an ordinary FedEx employee, is forced to survive on the tropical island like a modern-day Robinson Crusoe as he tries to escape his lonely fate and eventually return home.
Inspired by the movie, this incredible location has also recently been used as a setting for the US reality show Survivor, in which contestants must learn to live in the wild.