Lata, Solomon Islands

Lata is the provincial capital of Temotu Province in the Solomon Islands. As of 2019, the town had around 1,806 people living there. Visitors can stay in a few rest houses, and the town has a post office, a telecom office, and several stores for daily needs.

Lata has a small air strip where flights go to Makira and Honiara. Shipping to Honiara or nearby islands happens only sometimes, but people can also travel by outboard canoe around Nendö or to the Reef Islands. The main hospital for Temotu Province, Lata Hospital, is located in the town.

The town gets its airline service only from Solomon Airlines. In the past, the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands provided helicopter flights every two weeks to Lata. Because Lata is far from the capital, Honiara, it was not greatly affected by the ethnic tensions in 2003.

Lata has one free television channel that broadcasts on the VHF band at 175.25MHz. This channel, run by Telekom Television, offers a mix of sports and news. It is owned by Solomon Telekom, one of the two main telecom companies in the Solomon Islands.

The town includes a neighborhood called Matamotu.

Climate

Lata has a tropical rainforest climate with lots of rain all year long.