Easter Island
Travel Guide > South America > Chile > Easter Island
Introduction
Easter Island is one of the most isolated inhabited islands in the world. You can find this interesting little dot on the world map between Chile and French Polynesia, over 2,000 km from the nearest inhabited place, the Pitcairn Islands. Chile, of which the island is a part, is located 3,600 km away.
Easter Island is not your typical tropical island destination. The main drawcard is not the island's beaches, but rather its mysterious statues, known as moai by the locals. There are hundreds of statues across the whole island, but no one knows when or why they were placed - theories abound. Another mystery is the ancestral heritage of the local people. While most people think they are of Polynesian origin, others have suggested they originally came from South America.
Easter Island was so named because it was discovered by Europeans on Easter Sunday. The locals call it Rapa Nui, while the Spanish know it as Isla de Pascua.
UNESCO inscribed Rapa Nui National Park (which covers the vast majority of the island) as a World Heritage Site in 1996.
Sights and Activities
Easter Island statues
Easter Island's most famous attraction, of course, are its statues. Over half of the maoi are located at Rano Raraku, the quarry where most of them were made. There are more maori throughout the island, but many of these are in poor shape and have not been restored due to lack of funding from the Chilean government.
The moai are made of a soft rock called tuff, which (ironically) is quite weak.
Hanga Roa
Hanga Roa is the island's only real town and is home to all but a few hundred of the island's population. It's dominated by souvenir shops, car rental businesses, restaurants and guest houses.
Some attractions in Hanga Roa include:
- Archaeological Museum
Events and Festivals
Tapati Rapa Nui is the local carnival, running each year in late January or early February. As part of the festivities, people participate in traditional dancing, horse and canoe races and statue carving, amongst other things. Check out the official Easter Island website for more information.
Weather
Getting There
By Plane
Mataveri International Airport (IPC) is the airport on Easter Island.
There are flights between Easter Island and Santiago, Chile. These are operated by Lan Chile and cost upwards of $650. Lan Chile also has flights from Papeete, Tahiti.
By Boat
There are no real regular boat trips to Easter Island.
Getting Around
By Car
There are a number of car rental businesses operating on the island. If you're driving, the island's main attractions can easily be seen within a day or two.
By Public Transport
On Foot
Since Easter Island is quite small, many of the attractions (read: maoi) are within walking distance from Hanga Roa.
By Bike
Money
There is only one ATM on the whole island and not many places accept credit card. Therefore, it's a wise idea to try to have some Chilean Pesos on hand before coming to the island.
Eat
Drink
Sleep
Until recently, most of the accommodation in Easter Island was catered to the backpacker crowd, with costs around $20-$25 per person per night. As tourism has grown on the island, the range of accommodation options has also expanded. Many guesthouses have popped up, including ones such as Casas Rapa Nui (operated by luxury chain Explora)[1], which cater to those looking for more luxurious accommodation.
Work
Learn
References
- 1 Explora website and the Hanga Roa Hotel[ref]Hanga Roa Hotel website
This is version 8. Last edited at 3:35 on Feb 1, 08 by dr.pepper (+74). 4 articles link to this page.
Except where otherwise noted, content of this article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License