Mount Olotele

Deep within the lush, rainforested terrain of Mapusagafou is the Le Fale‘o Cultural Center, offering visitors an immersive experience of traditional arts, cooking, and customs.

[7] On clear days, the summit of Mount Olotele offers sweeping, 270-degree vistas that stretch across the entire island—reaching as far as Aunu‘u Island to the southeast and encompassing Tutuila's south shore villages.

Village leaders seized this opportunity to relocate to the flat terrain atop Mount Olotele, a move long under consideration and seen as especially advantageous for younger generations.

Today, it remains a cherished tradition for families to visit the original coastal settlement — A‘oloau Tuai — to share ancestral folklore and stories with the next generation.

[15] An adventurous 2.5-mile (4.0 km) trail begins just east of a botanical garden established by the Department of Tourism on Mount Olotele, descending toward the beach and monument in A‘asutuai.

[17] The unconsolidated ash and cinder deposits from Olotele Mountain to Larsen Bay offer valuable geological insight into the region's formative processes.

Mount Olotele is notable for its cinder cone, where interbedded lava flows and weathered layers create conditions that trap small bodies of perched water.