Nu'ulopa is a small uninhabited island in the Apolima Strait

Apolima Strait

The Apolima Strait is about 13km wide and separates the two largest islands of Samoa, the island of Savai'i to the northwest, and Upolu to the southeast....

 between the islands of Upolu

Upolu

Upolu is an island in Samoa, formed by a massive basaltic shield volcano which rises from the seafloor of the western Pacific Ocean. The island is long, in area, and is the second largest in geographic area as well as the most populated of the Samoan Islands. Upolu is situated to the east of...

 and Savai'i

Savai'i

Savaii is the largest and highest island in Samoa and the Samoa Islands chain. It is also the biggest landmass in Polynesia outside Hawaii and New Zealand. The island of Savai'i is also referred to by Samoans as Salafai, a classical Samoan term used in oratory and prose...

 in Samoa

Samoa

Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...

. The island is part of Aiga-i-le-Tai

Aiga-i-le-Tai

Aiga-i-le-Tai is a district of Samoa which includes the small islands of Manono, Apolima and tiny uninhabited Nu'ulopa lying in the Apolima Strait between the country's two main islands of Upolu and Savai'i....

 district.

Nu'ulopa is about 50m high. It is also a small forested rocky outcrop with coconut palms (Cocos nucifera) and a conservation area for flying foxes

Pteropus

Bats of the genus Pteropus, belonging to the megabat or Megachiroptera sub-order, are the largest bats in the world. They are commonly known as the fruit bats or flying foxes among other colloquial names...

. The surrounding sea is a conservation area for turtles.

Nu'ulopa sits between another two islands Apolima

Apolima

Apolima is the smallest of the four inhabited islands of Samoa and situated in the Apolima Strait, between the country's two largest islands Upolu to the east and Savai'i to the west....

 and Manono

Manono Island

Manono is an island of Samoa, situated in the Apolima Strait between the main islands of Savai'i and Upolu, 3.4 km WNW off Lefatu Cape, the westernmost point of Upolu....

. The islands lie on an underwater ridge connecting the two main islands of Upolu and Savai'i.

Nu'ulopa is generally used as a cemetery for the high chiefs (matai

Fa'amatai

Fa'amatai is the chiefly system of Samoa, central to the organization of Samoan society.It is the traditional indigenous form of governance in the Samoa Islands, comprising American Samoa and the Independent State of Samoa...

) of Manono.

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