The Loyalty Islands archipelago comprises four main coral islands, Ouvéa, Lifou, Maré and Tiga, numerous smaller islets and the Beautemps-Beaupré reefs north-west of Ouvéa. It is located about 125 km from the east coast of New Caledonia’s main island and some 250 km from Vanuatu. The Loyalty Islands cover a total area of 1,981 km2, i.e. about 10 per cent of New Caledonia.

The flatness of the landscape, the impressive forest vegetation dotted with clearings and the sparse signs of human habitation surprise the visitor who arrives by plane. Lifou, Maré, Tiga and Ouvéa are actually old atolls that were lifted up and tilted at the end of the Tertiary era. They are often compared to great gourds with slightly upturned edges. On Maré the highest point is 138 m, on Lifou 104 m and on Ouvéa 46 m.

The interior of these islands is made up of caves, indeed veritable abysses, hidden in dense forest vegetation. The impressive cliffs surrounding the islands sometimes give way to a series of projecting ledges forming a staircase leading down to the sea. The last step opens out onto long beaches of sparkling white sand, a stunning transition with reflections from the emerald-coloured water. This description fits many beaches: Wabao, Luengoni, Luecilla and so on.

Lifou is the largest of the Loyalty Islands, not only in terms of its area of 1,150 km2, about one-tenth the size of the main Fijian island, Viti Levu, but also in terms of its population (more than 10,000 inhabitants) and administrative status. Located on the edge of Chateaubriand Bay, the island's main village, Wé, is home to the Loyalty Islands Province Centre, the local administration centre, the local council and most of the shops.

Lifou is made up of three custom districts: Wetr in the north of the island (17 tribal villages), Gaïça in the centre (4 tribal villages) and the custom district of Lössi in the south (16 tribal villages). The local language is Drehu. The island is a former atoll that has been gradually raised over time. It has a large central plateau which is the seabed of the former atoll, ringed with cliffs which formed the old barrier reef. Despite the coral surface and the lack of humus, Lifou is covered with scattered patches of forest and clusters of coconut palms and New Caledonian pines.

Thirty kilometres from Maré and Lifou lies Tiga, the smallest of the Loyalty Islands, both in terms of its area and the number of inhabitants. Six kilometres long and two kilometres wide, it occupies only 11 km2. A single tribe of some 400 persons is settled near the beach in the north-west. Tiga produces copra and has an undeveloped phosphate deposit on the upper plateau.

Maré is the second largest of the Loyalty Islands. It fits in a square measuring 30 km on each side and covers an area of 650 km2. The various capes scattered around its perimeter, like the arms of a star, mark out a number of bays along the coast. The island has a population of around 7,500, mainly distributed along the coast.

In custom terms, Maré is divided into eight districts: Guahma and Tadine in the west, Wabao, Medu and Eni in the southwest, Pénélo in the southeast, La Roche in the north and Tawainedr in the east. The local language is Nengone. Maré's broad central plateau, formed from the seabed of an old lagoon, is covered with forests surrounded by grassy savannah due to centuries of land clearing by fire and the invasion of imported species. The coast is fringed with clusters of coconut palms and New Caledonian pines.

Ouvéa is the most northern of the Loyalty Islands. It is made up of a string of islets arranged in a triangle with sides measuring 40 km, surrounding a vast central lagoon. The emergent land is formed by two islands about 5 km wide and connected by an isthmus sometimes less than 40 m wide. Together, they stretch for 35 km on a north-south axis. Some 4,400 inhabitants are spread across 132 km2 divided into three custom districts: Saint-Joseph in the northern part of the main island, on the edge of the lagoon, Fayaoué in the middle of the southern island on the inner coast and Mouli in the far south.

Two local languages are spoken on Ouvéa: Iaaï, of Melanesian origin, in the centre and north of the island, and Faga-uvéa, spoken by Polynesian descendants in the south and north. Despite the chalky surface and the lack of humus, the island is covered with almost impenetrable forest. The coast is fringed with coconut plantations used for copra and mangrove swamp is spreading in the marshy areas near the coast. The lagoons and associated lands of Ouvéa and the Beautemps-Beaupré atoll have been registered on the list of World Heritage Sites by Unesco for their biodiversity.

Lifou, Maré, Ouvéa and Tiga have one point in common: lack of rivers due to the very porous limestone subsoil. Ouvéa and Tiga have no freshwater "lens", an underground pool of fresh water suspended in seawater, which is an important source of water on many islands. Maré and Lifou each contain one deep beneath the surface. Ouvéa has a seawater desalination plant which serves the inhabitants by a tanker truck.

The archipelago where it is always spring: It is no myth that the Loyalty Islands enjoy a permanent spring. Endowed with a tropical ocean climate tempered by trade winds, the archipelago offers pleasant climatic conditions throughout the year. The average annual temperature is 23.5°C, with February a little hotter (28°C) and August a little milder (18°C).

The cyclones that pass through New Caledonia between November and March in some years, do not generally linger in Maré, Lifou and Ouvéa. In any event, they are much less violent there. The particularly mild temperature of the sea (between 22°C and 25°C throughout the year) should also be noted.

Of the 235,000 inhabitants identified by census in New Caledonia, 22,080 live in the Loyalty Islands, i.e. 9.6 per cent of the total population. The Loyalty Islands’ population is the youngest in New Caledonia, with an average age of 27.5 years. But its population growth is the slowest in the territory due to major migration to New Caledonia’s main island for work or to educate children.

Loyalty Islanders are strongly grounded in custom and oral tradition, and a substantial proportion of civil cases are still dealt with through custom. Land is the centre of Melanesian culture. As the Loyalty Islands were never subject to colonial settlement, almost the entire area is made up of custom land, over which customary authorities hold multiple rights. The first occupants remain masters of the land.