A Photographer Visited The World's "Most Untouched Civilization" In The Remote Pacific And The Pictures Are Crazy

Daily Mail - Life on one of the world's most remote sets of islands, which are still only inhabited by its original tribal settlers, has been captured in a series of stunning photographs.

The 'extremely isolated' Marquesas Islands are one of the world's most untouched civilisations, with its inhabitants blissfully still relatively unaffected by the developed world.

The islands are dotted in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, 1,400km (880 miles) from the nearest popular tourist destination of Tahiti, in French Polynesia. 

And these stunning photos, captured by world-famous photographer Jimmy Nelson, show what life is like on the islands, which have become one of the world's best-kept secrets.

Jimmy, 53, is known for his portraits of tribal and indigenous peoples - and has now visited the Marquesas Islands twice.

His amazing photos show off the panoramic vistas of the 12 islands - of which only six are inhabited - with their green, mountainous landscapes that inspired Robert Louis Stevenson's famous adventure novel, Treasure Island.

The islanders, known as Marquesans, have retained a rich sense of heritage, getting around their islands predominantly on horseback.

And they are covered in significant, tribal tattoos - with modern-day tattoos, as we know them, having originated from these isolated islands, Jimmy says.

He said: 'It is a beautiful part of the world, and is still relatively untouched by the developed world.

'You have to make a real effort to get there, as it is about four hours by plane from Tahiti, so it is not the most popular destination.

'Very few people have actually spent time there - but that just means that those who do make the effort to go, will go with love and compassion and curiosity to really find out about the islands.

'Once you are there, it takes a long time to really connect with the islands and with their culture.

'The Marquesans don't speak any English, so you have to find other ways to communicate with them.

Do you think these nice innocent people of the Marquesas Islands have the slightest clue of the cesspool the rest of the planet outside their little bubble is like? 

Do you think they care?

I read this feature fully expecting it to end badly; with the inevitable murder of world-famous photographer Jimmy Nelson. Much like the "blogger/evangelist" that traveled to the Sentinel Islands in 2018 that got killed by the island's inhabitants.

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No new friends means no new friends.

And by the looks of these guys, they know how to fuck shit up.

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They look like everything the Black Eyed Peas want to be and more.

Jason LaVeris. Getty Images.

How long until Instagram influencers catch wind of this hard to get to a tropical oasis and begin to flood this place so they can be the first to geotag a sweet selfie from here? Like the morons who flocked to Chernobyl last year after the HBO series blasted off, except worse because instead of a toxic wasteland where those people belong, they'll be invading an untouched part of the world that humans haven't managed to totally ruin yet.

If the Marquesasan's slaughter any influencers I not only say it should be condoned, I say it should be applauded. Let them send a message.

Jimmy's images are all licensed so if you want to see I highly recommend visiting his site for the Marquesans here.

p.s. - Could anybody from our society today survive amongst these people in these conditions? No chance, right?

p.p.s. - I'm reading "Island" by Aldous Huxley right now (hardoooo) and can't help but notice the similarities of this whole scenario. If you're into post-war utopian metaphors that bear striking resemblances to shit going on today, I highly recommend it.