The Falealupo Rainforest Reserve is a protected area in the northwest of Savaii, an island in Western Samoa. The absolute highlight is the Canopy Aerial Walkway, a 30-metre suspension bridge that leads through the jungle canopy at a height of 40 metres.
On the island of Savaii on Samoa in the South Pacific, the Falealupo Rainforest Reserve is a special gem of tropical rainforest. The Falelalupo Rainforest Reserve is located in the northwest of Savaii and is described by many visitors as the paradise of Adam and Eve. Anyone visiting the dream islands of Samoa should definitely pay a visit to Falealupo. We have included the fascinating jungle on our list of the top 10 sights in the South Seas.
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Accidental emergence
The remote villages of Falealupo have an agreement with the Samoa government regarding the education of their children. The villagers provide land and school buildings, while the government takes care of the teachers and the timetable.
In order to finance their school building, the villagers in Falealupo decided to sell the tropical wood of the surrounding rainforest. This was brought to the attention of Paul Cox, an American ethnobotanist and chairman of Seacology, who had been living in Falealupo for many years. He promised the villagers to raise the funds for the school, thus saving 120,000 hectares of the precious rainforest.
In close cooperation with Chief Fuiono Senio, the Falealupo Rainforest Reserve was established in 1989. This project earned Chief Peter Cox the Goldman Environmental Prize in 1997, the prize money of which went to the conservation and tourism development of the Falealupo Rainforest Reserve. The school has of course also been built in the meantime.
Walk through the treetops of the rainforest
The absolute highlight of the Falealupo Rainforest Reserve is the so-called Canopy Aerial Walkway. Here, 40 metres above the forest floor, a suspension bridge secured with nets has been built through the treetops of the jungle. Admittedly, it takes a bit of courage to walk so high above solid ground, but the fantastic impressions from a bird's eye view make up for any discomfort. The Canopy Aerial Walkway definitely pays off to overcome your fear of heights!
The 30-metre-long footbridge at a lofty height was built between two mighty tree trunks and leads through the lush green canopy of the Samoan rainforest. Suddenly you find animals at eye level that you can otherwise only observe from below.
The narrow path ends in the crown of a 200-year-old banyan tree. In its branches is a viewing platform 70 metres above the ground, where you can even spend the night and experience the unforgettable sounds of the rainforest at night - breakfast and mosquito net included.
In 2008, the Canopy Aerial Walkway had to be closed because a support tree was rotting. The tree was replaced by an aluminium tower and since 2010 the Canopy Aerial Walkway has once again led visitors through the high world of the Samoan jungle.
Other places of interest in the Falealupo Rainforest Reserve
With the admittedly somewhat high-priced ticket for the Canopy Aerial Walk in the Falealupo Rainforest Reserve, you can also visit other attractions. For example Moso's Footprint, an unusual shape in the lava river on the northwest coast of Savaii, which according to legend was left by the giant Moso, or the House of Rock, a huge stone cave that according to legend was built in a competition between men and women.
The men's house was never completed. Since then, the saying in Samoa has been: what a woman starts, she finishes. The money raised by the Canopy Aerial Walkway is also used for a pension fund for Falealupo's senior citizens.
