Easter Island (Chile)

Rapa Nui (Easter Island) sits 3,700 kilometres off the Chilean coast and is one of the most remote inhabited places on Earth. The flight from Santiago takes about 5 hours on LATAM Airlines, which operates the only regular service. Round-trip fares from Santiago run CLP 300,000-600,000 depending on season and advance booking. All visitors pay a USD 80 national park fee on arrival, granting access to most sites for ten days.

There are approximately 1,000 moai on the island. Some are fallen, some partially buried by centuries of sediment accumulation, some fully restored to their ahu (ceremonial stone platforms). The largest moai ever moved stands 10 metres tall and weighs around 80 tonnes. How the Rapa Nui people transported these multi-tonne volcanic tuff sculptures across terrain with no wheels and no draft animals has been the subject of serious academic dispute for decades. The current leading theory – experimental archaeology using ropes and rocking motion to “walk” the statues upright – has been demonstrated to work. The engineering problem is solved. The social organisation required to sustain the effort across generations remains the more interesting question.

The Key Sites

Rano Raraku, the volcanic quarry on the island’s eastern side, is the best single site. About 400 moai sit in various stages of completion – some buried to the neck by sediment, others partially finished in the crater wall, others apparently abandoned mid-carving. The standard explanation is that the statues were abandoned when the society that built them collapsed around the 17th century. Walking through this landscape is strange and memorable in ways photographs can’t fully capture.

Ahu Tongariki, a restored platform with 15 standing moai, is the most photographed site. The statues face inland (all moai face inland, watching over the living rather than the sea). At sunrise, light hits the back of the platform while the statues are silhouetted. Arrive before 7am.

Anakena Beach on the northern coast is the island’s only proper swimming beach – white sand, two ahu with restored moai, clear water. The combination of a decent beach and nearby statues makes it worth the 20-minute drive from Hanga Roa.

Hanga Roa and Practicalities

The island’s single town is on the west coast. There are maybe half a dozen streets of commercial significance. The craft market near the church sells locally made bone and wood carvings at fixed prices – negotiation isn’t the local custom here.

For food: Haka Honu on the waterfront does good fish at reasonable prices. Meals generally run CLP 8,000-18,000 per person, expensive by Chilean mainland standards but the arithmetic of extreme remoteness applies.

There are no ATMs that reliably accept foreign cards. Bring cash in USD or Chilean pesos, or verify your card works at the Banco Estado ATM before relying on it. Internet is slow. Hire a bicycle for CLP 10,000-15,000 per day or rent a car or scooter to cover more ground.

Best months: November through March. The Tapati Festival in late January or early February is a two-week celebration of Rapa Nui culture with traditional sports, music, body painting, and canoe racing that transforms the island’s atmosphere. Book accommodation months in advance for that period.