Lata is the provincial capital of Temotu Province

Temotu Province

Temotu is the easternmost province of the Solomon Islands. The province was formerly known as Santa Cruz Islands Province. It consists, essentially, of two chains of islands which run parallel to each other from the northwest to the southeast.- Islands :...

, Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...

. As of 2007, it has 553 inhabitants. There are a few rest houses for over night stays. There is a Post office, Telecom office and numerous stores.

It contains a small air strip with flights to Makira

Makira

The island of Makira is the largest island of Makira-Ulawa Province in the Solomon Islands. The island is located east of Guadalcanal and south of Malaita. The largest and capital city is Kirakira....

 and Honiara

Honiara

Honiara, population 49,107 , 78,190 , is the capital of the Solomon Islands and of Guadalcanal Province, although it is a separately administered town...

. Shipping service is irregular but occasionally transport can be found to Honiara or the outer islands. Outboard canoe travel around the island of Nendo or to the Reef Islands

Reef Islands

The Reef Islands are a loose collection of 16 islands in the northwestern part of the Solomon Islands province of Temotu. These islands have historically also been known by the names of Swallow Islands and Matema Islands....

 is possible.

Temotu Province's main hospital. Lata Hospital is situated in Lata town.

The only fixed wing service is by Solomon Islands Air. The RAMSI Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands provide their own helicopter flights fortnightly to Lata.

During the ethnic tensions of 2003, there were no issues in Lata, mainly due to being so far away from the Capital, Honiara.