Isla de Pascua Travel Guide

Easter Island — Rapa Nui to its people — is a Pacific outpost 3,700 km west of mainland Chile, shaped by volcanic eruptions. Scattered across the island stand some 900 moai, towering figures carved mostly from volcanic tuff to represent deified ancestors. At the Rano Raraku quarry, dozens of unfinished statues still lie in the crater slope, work halted mid-carving for reasons that remain unclear. The fifteen moai of Ahu Tongariki, lined up with their backs to the sea, draw photographers at sunrise. Fly from Santiago in about 5.5 hours; allow at least three days and consider renting a bike to explore.

Ahu Tongariki is the largest Moai group on Easter Island, with 15 giant Moai on the altar, a sunrise sanctuary.

Rapa Nui National Park covers roughly 40 percent of Easter Island; the entire island joined the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1995. The park protects the Rano Raraku quarry, the birdman village of Orongo, Ahu Tongariki and other statue groups, plus volcanic craters and crater lakes. All visitors must buy the Boleto Turístico tourist ticket, sold at the airport and in town — guards check it at several sites, so carry it at all times. In early February the Tapati festival re-enacts the birdman competition and other ancestral traditions. The trail to Orongo's clifftop viewpoint over the crater lakes is short and gentle.

Ahu Tahai on Easter Island is an archaeological site with five Moai statues, the classic spot for Pacific sunset viewing.

The Papa Vaka rock-art site holds Rapa Nui's richest concentration of petroglyphs, with fish and canoe motifs that are key to understanding the islanders' maritime beliefs.

Hitu Merahi is an archaeological site facing the Pacific on Rapa Nui, preserving ancient stone structures and house foundations, evoking the island's enduring culture against dramatic seascapes.