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Yap
Land of Stone Money

Sokehs Ridge, Micronesia
Sokehs Ridge, Micronesia
Photographic Print
Elk III, John
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WWII Japanese Guns in Jungle, Sokehs Ridge, Micronesia
WWII Japanese Guns in Jungle, Sokehs Ridge, Micronesia
Photographic Print
Elk III, John
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Yap State Flag


Yap State Government Links

State of Yap by FSM Visitors Board
State of Yap Investment and Business Development Opportunities
About the State of Yap by Legal Information System
Stilt Houses, Chamorro Bay, Colonia, Micronesia
Stilt Houses, Chamorro Bay, Colonia, Micronesia
Photographic Print
Elk III, John
Buy at AllPosters.com
Located in the Western Carolines, about midway between Guam and Palau, Yap is comprised of the main islands of Yap, Gagil-Tomil, Map, and Rumung. Yap State stretches eastward for another 1,200 or so kilometers and includes another 134 outer islands, most of them low-lying atolls. While the state covers a vast expanse of ocean, its land area is only 120 square kilometers.
Yap's capital and center of business and government, is Colonia, a small town situated along the waterfront and around a bay. A number of hotels are located in the Colonia area and are within walking distance of the major stores, handicraft shops and the post office. Other hotels are located in quiet, peaceful locations beyond the state center. English is the business language, while Yapese and Outer Island languages remain the mother tongues.

Most Yapese live in their home villages located outside of Colonia. Villages retain many features that have remained for centuries, such as stone pathways and house platforms. Many Yapese still wear traditional attire of loin clothes or “thus” for the men and grass skirts or lava lavas for women. “Thus”are generally made of red, white, or blue cloth and are especially convenient for little boys. Adult men from mainland Yap add a traditional woven “bagi” of hibiscus fibers. The grass skirts worn by Yapese women are not made of grass, but of shredded leaves of ti, banana, betelnut, fragrant ginger, fern and other leaves.
Stone Money Bank
The Yapese were a seafaring people who sailed vast distances over the Pacific. Even in recent times, canoes from Yap have been sailed to the Marianas, Okinawa and Palau. The trip to Palau was made to reenact the quarrying of stone money. In centuries past, Yapese made the lifethreatening 1000 kilometer round
trip to Palau's Rock Islands to quarry the nowfamous stone money. These stone disks measure up to two meters in diameter and weigh as much as four tons, making them the world's largest currency.

A major part of the appeal of Yap is that it maintains many of its traditional characteristics. Stone paths wind through foodproducing landscapes of tree gardens and taro patch systems. To people jaded by the highly industrialized world, Yap provides a refreshing change. Most all land and beaches of Yap are private property and visitors should obtain permission or be accompanied by guides prior to exploring beyond the roads.

Many visitors to Yap come for the amazing diving adventures - especially the chance to glimpse the sight of many manta rays gliding over their “cleaning stations” in several channels. Yap is well equipped with diving facilities, and dive tours take divers to sites where they can just lie on the ocean floor and watch the magnificent mantas glide overhead.


For more information about the islands of Yap or any of the other islands of the FSM, please email us.





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