World's smallest capital — sakau kava, mangrove forests, and the island of Nan Madol
Palikir is the tiny capital of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) on Pohnpei Island — a pocket of government buildings surrounded by Pacific rainforest with no town to speak of. The real draw is Pohnpei itself: the island is home to Nan Madol, the 'Venice of the Pacific', a 92-island stone-city complex built on manmade islets between 1200 and 1500 AD, and the sakau (kava) ceremony that is central to Pohnpeian life.
Pohnpei was home to the Saudeleur Dynasty, whose rulers built the megalithic city of Nan Madol — 750,000 tons of basalt prisms transported by sea to construct 92 artificial islets connected by canals, complete with a royal mortuary complex and sea walls. Palikir was designated as the FSM capital in 1989, replacing the old district centre of Kolonia; the FSM itself gained independence from US administration in 1986 after four decades as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.