Fongafale is the only village of the Tuvaluan atoll of Funafuti. It is the biggest place of Tuvalu and it is on the biggest island of Funafuti, which is also known as Fongafale. The village of Fongafale lies completely over the island, so the island is practically the same as the village.
There are four neighbourhoods:
- Alapi
- Fakai Fou
- Senala
- Vaiaku
Vaiaku is the most important and most southern, and most western neighbourhood. The official buildings are here.
The only (international) airport of the country is located in Fongafale. There are seven small ponds. The Pond (Funafuti) is the biggest of them.
On the island there are government offices, Vaiaku Lagi Hotel (the only hotel of the country, there are also a few guesthouses), telecommunication centre, a jail, a meteorological station, a fuelpump station, a hospital (Princess Margaret Hospital ), the governor's house, the Tuvalu House , the Philatelic Bureau, some shops, the Country's only commercial bank, and the general post office. Seaplanes can land near the airport. The Fetuao Lima Church , Tausoa Maneapa (city hall), cooperation shop and a primary school are also on the island. There is a hurricane bank and a reef around the island. The bank is on the eastern side, the side of the open Pacific ocean, so the western side is the atoll-side. There is a wreck from WW II.
There are four taxis, and you can hire motorbikes. The village has a surface area of more than 0.65 square km and contains about 4 000 inhabitants.
