Vanuatu
Nanda Blue Hole
Jungle parts to reveal a freshwater pool so blue it looks lit from within.
The jungle trail opens without warning onto a pool of freshwater so intensely blue it seems to generate its own light. The colour deepens toward the centre, shifting from pale aquamarine at the sandy rim to a bottomless cobalt where underground springs push up from below. Nanda Blue Hole on Espiritu Santo is a place that makes you doubt your eyes before you even touch the water.
Nanda Blue Hole sits about 30 minutes' drive from Luganville through coconut groves and jungle tracks. The colour comes from minerals dissolved in the underground springs that feed the pool — the water never stagnates and stays cool even during Santo's hottest months. Community-built platforms and a rope swing sit at the edge, with water deep enough to jump safely from six metres. The shallow rim is gentle enough for wading, while the centre drops away into vivid depth. The site is community-managed by local families who maintain the platforms and clear the surrounding bush. There is no entrance building, no changing room — just the clearing, the colour, and the sound of the forest.
Couple
The blue hole is at its most striking in the late morning when sunlight hits the water directly. Floating together in the deep centre, staring up at jungle canopy framing blue sky, is as close to a natural infinity pool as Vanuatu gets.
Family
Children wade the sandy shallows while adults float in the deep centre — the entire pool is visible to the bottom at every depth. The rope swing and platform jumping add just enough adrenaline to keep older kids engaged.
Friends
The rope swing, the platform, and the six-metre jump make Nanda the most active of Santo's blue holes. Between jumps, the cool mineral water and surrounding jungle quiet make it worth lingering all afternoon.
- The vivid colour comes from minerals in underground springs — the water never stagnates and stays cool even at the height of summer.
- Community-built platforms and a rope swing sit at the edge — the water below is deep enough to jump from six metres.
- Children can wade the shallow rim while adults float in the deep centre — the water is clear to the bottom at every depth.
- A 30-minute drive from Luganville through coconut groves leads to a clearing where only the sound of the forest and the spring remains.
Freshly cracked coconuts and tropical fruit bought from roadside stalls on the drive from Luganville.
Coconut crab roasted over an open fire, the rich meat pulled straight from the shell.
Niagara Falls
United States
Six million cubic feet of water per minute plunging into mist you feel a mile away.
Santa Maria
Portugal
The Azores' oldest island hides a red clay desert and golden beaches the other islands lack.
Santa Maria
Cape Verde
Trade winds blast a long golden beach where kitesurfers trace arcs above turquoise Atlantic rollers.
Jericoacoara
Brazil
Windswept dunes where the sun melts into the sea from a natural stone arch.
Vanua Lava
Vanuatu
Hot springs cascade into the sea beneath a steaming volcano wrapped in jungle that swallows paths.
Port Olry
Vanuatu
Lobster and fresh baguettes at dawn in a fishing village with white sand and nobody around.
Hideaway Island
Vanuatu
Post a waterproof postcard from the world's only underwater post office, then snorkel its coral reef.
Mount Yasur
Vanuatu
Molten rock spits skyward every few minutes from a crater you can walk to at dusk.