Naghol (Land Diving)

What: The ori­gin of Bungee Jump­ing, land div­ing or Naghol is held on Pen­te­cost island in Van­u­atu and sees Van­u­at­u­an Males jump from a self-con­struct­ed 90ft tow­er with noth­ing but vines attached to their ankles to sup­port them­selves.

The fes­ti­val, which has grown in pop­u­lar­i­ty over recent years, is only open to Van­u­at­u­an males (and a select few hon­oured guest) and is done to sym­bol­ise the pass­ing of a child into man­hood and bring in a fruit­ful har­vest, with the clos­est the land div­er gets to the ground the bet­ter the result­ing har­vest will be.

When:  Though once an annu­al event, Land div­ing in Van­u­atu takes place once a week through the months of April, May and June owing to the rev­enue that tourism can being in to the island, with most of the prof­its going to main­tain the cul­ture and habit of the islanders.

Where: Naghol takes place on Pen­te­cost Island in Van­u­atu, with access to the island avail­able through air taxi or boat.

Dura­tion: The land dives are con­duct­ed once a week dur­ing the months of April to June with the land div­ing itself last­ing a mat­ter of sec­onds. The prepara­to­ry work to make the 90ft tall dive tow­er and the vines for jump­ing takes 2–3 months, with each div­er respon­si­ble for cre­ation of their own vines.

Tick­ets: Tick­ets to watch Naghol start at 10,000 vatu, while trans­port to Pen­te­cost Island pos­si­ble by air taxi, car­go boat or speed boat can also cost in the region of 7000 vatu, with trips arranged through the Van­u­atu tourism office rec­om­mend­ed.

Need to Know: Film­ing of the land div­ing is pro­hib­it­ed in an effort to pro­tect the cul­ture of the natives of Van­u­atu, it is strong­ly rec­om­mend­ed to organ­ise any trip there through a tour com­pa­ny.

More Infor­ma­tion: The offi­cial Vanau­tu tourisim office is at: https://www.vanuatu.travel/en/