Southern Cook Islands
The Southern Cook Islands are a loose group of mostly volcanic, hilly islands and a few coral atolls. It is home to most of the islands' population, and to its capital and largest town, Avarua.| Tap on a place to explore it |
Photo: Mr Bullitt, CC BY 2.5.
Essential Destinations
Top destinations include Rarotonga and Aitutaki.
Rarotonga
Photo: Robert Engberg, CC BY 2.0.
Rarotonga is the largest and by far the most populated of the Cook Islands, and is known as 'Raro'. It is the easiest to get to, with direct international flights from several countries, and has the most attractions and acccommodation of the islands.
Aitutaki
Photo: Pbsouthwood, Public domain.
Aitutaki is an island in the Southern Cook Islands. Aitutaki lagoon and its islands are breathtakingly beautiful. The classic picture postcard of small palm tree fringed tropical island, with shallow, warm turquoise waters, corals, tropical fish and blue skies is taken here.
Palmerston Island
Photo: NASA, Public domain.
Palmerston Island is a coral atoll which includes five small island groups. It is one of the Southern Cook Islands. It has no airstrip; access is by sea only.
Destinations to Discover
Explore places such as Mangaia and Mauke.
Mangaia
Photo: KennyOMG, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Mangaia is the most southerly of the Cook Islands and the second largest, after Rarotonga. Geologists estimate the island is at least 18 million years old, making it the oldest in the Pacific.
Mauke
Photo: Wikimedia, Public domain.
Mauke is an island of the Cook Islands archipelago, lying in the central-southern Pacific Ocean. Part of the Nga-pu-Toru, it is 277 km northeast of Rarotonga.
Atiu
Photo: Wikimedia, Public domain.
Atiu is an island in Southern Cook Islands. It is the third largest, third most populous, and third most visited island in the Cook Island group. It is 27 km2 and has a rapidly decreasing population of 434, of which most are children and elderly.
Mitiaro
Photo: Wikimedia, Public domain.
Mitiaro, the fourth island in the Cook Islands group, is of volcanic origin, standing in water 4500 m deep. It is 6.4km across at its widest point. Mitiaro is part of the Nga-Pu-Toru island group formerly, a volcano that became a coral atoll.
Southern Cook Islands
- Type: Island
- Description: chains of atolls in the South Pacific Ocean
- Also known as: “Cook Islands”, “Lower Cook Group”, “Lower Cook Islands”, “Lower Group”, and “Southern Group”
- Category: island group
- Location: Cook Islands, Polynesia, Oceania
- View on OpenStreetMap
This page is based on GeoNames, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikivoyage.
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Satellite Map
Discover Southern Cook Islands from above in high-definition satellite imagery.
In Other Languages
From Cebuano to Swedish—“Southern Cook Islands” goes by many names.
- Cebuano: “Lower Cook Islands”
- Chinese: “南库克群岛”
- Czech: “Jižní Cookovy ostrovy”
- Finnish: “Eteläiset Cookinsaaret”
- French: “îles Cook du Sud”
- French: “Îles Cook du Sud”
- Galician: “Illas Cook Meridionais”
- Indonesian: “Kepulauan Cook Selatan”
- Italian: “Isole Cook meridionali”
- Polish: “Południowe Wyspy Cooka”
- Slovak: “Južné Cookove ostrovy”
- Slovenian: “Južni Cookovi otoki”
- Slovenian: “Spodnji Cookovi otoki”
- Swedish: “Lower Cook Islands”
Cook Islands: Must-Visit Destinations
Delve into Northern Cook Islands and Suwarrow National Park.
Explore These Curated Destinations
Discover places selected for their distinct character and enduring appeal.
About Mapcarta. Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, except for photos, directions, and the map. Description text is based on the Wikivoyage page “Southern Cook Islands”. Photo: Wikimedia, CC0.