Easter Island (Rapa Nui)

UNESCO World Heritage Site (Rapa Nui National Park, 1995); A Polynesian Island Administered By Chile'S Valparaiso Region, Famous For Its Moai Statues · Hanga Roa, Valparaiso

Rapa Nui, Easter Island, is a small triangle of volcanic grassland in the Pacific, more than 3,500 kilometres from the Chilean coast and one of the most remote inhabited places on earth. Polynesian voyagers settled it roughly a thousand years ago and carved nearly a thousand moai, the great stone figures of ancestors, from the tuff of the Rano Raraku crater, then moved them across the island to stand on stone platforms, ahu, facing inland. Most were later toppled; many have been raised again. The fifteen moai of Ahu Tongariki, the quarry of Rano Raraku with figures left half-carved in the rock, the ceremonial village of Orongo on the rim of the Rano Kau crater, and the palm-fringed beach of Anakena are the great sights. The island is also a living Polynesian community with its own language and a festival, the Tapati, each February. It is expensive and slow to reach, visits to most sites now need a local guide, and a stay has a legal limit, but nothing else looks like it.

Hanga Roa, Isla de Pascua, Valparaiso, Hanga Roa, Valparaiso, Chile

Park sites open daily in daylight hours. A national park ticket, valid for a set number of days, is required, and Rano Raraku and Orongo can each be entered only once on it. Most park sites can only be visited with a certified local guide. Flights from Santiago run on a limited schedule; confirm entry rules, which include a maximum stay and documentation, before booking.

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