That remote place in the middle of nowhere, with those mysterious Moais who to this day doubt their purpose! So far I went, located in the Pacific Ocean, in Polynesia, it belongs to Chile, although its inhabitants do not feel like it.
Due to its remote and isolated location, the easiest way to get to Easter Island is by plane. Latam is currently the only airline that has regular flights to Rapa Nui. They have a daily flight from Arturo Merino Benitez Airport in Santiago de Chile (SCL), although in high season these frequencies can vary, this is the most important and accessible link point. The flight from Santiago de Chile to Easter Island is about 5 hours and 25 minutes one way and slightly less, 4 hours and 40 minutes back due to the influence of the wind.
Requirements to travel to Easter Island
For tourists
In Santiago de Chile, once we have our boarding, we must make a special line, where the Investigations Police will ask you to complete the Unique Entry Form to Rapa Nui (FUI). I completed it online to save time on this page https://ingresorapanui.interior.gob.cl/
The requirements are:
- Have a return ticket.
- Identity card, passport or other travel document.
- Book in a tourist accommodation authorized by Sernatur or an invitation letter written by a resident or person belonging to the Rapa Nui people delivered by the Government. In both cases, you must prove your place of stay.
- The island is managed with Chilean pesos, so change in Santiago de Chile or bring dollars, they accept them there without problems, moreover the hostel that I hired wanted me to pay if or with dollars.
Once we arrive at the Mataveri International Airport of Easter Island (IPC) we will find a small place, and it is considered the most remote in the world, since the closest air terminal is Mangareva, in French Polynesia, which is located 2603 kilometers although it has no direct connection to it. At the moment it only operates with the Santiago de Chile Airport, which is at a distance of 3759 km and with the Papeete (Tahiti) airport located at 4254 km.
As soon as you land you have to buy the entrance pass to the National Park that allows you to enter the archaeological sites of the island, we must always take it because they will ask us to enter. At the airport, I see that my name was on a blackboard, and they welcome me with a flower necklace, what a nice welcome! And from there we moved to the hostel.
Easter Island is not very cheap, but it is not too expensive either. The same food or drink that is available in Santiago, here we will get 40 percent more in some cases.
Mataveri International Airport on Easter Island is considered the most remote in the world, as the closest air terminal is Mangareva, in French Polynesia, which is 2603 kilometers away, although it has no direct connection to it. At the moment it only operates with the Santiago de Chile Airport, which is at a distance of 3759 km and with the Papeete (Tahiti) airport located at 4254 km.
Now, the million dollar question is … How long does it take to get to know the island?
They have asked me a lot, and that depends on each person, although the island is small, I spent 6 days and I think it is ideal. I organized myself to do something different every morning, and also to watch the sunset in strategic places. Like the photos you will see below.
But this is as long as they have time, and if they hire a package and offer them 3 days, I assure you that they will be short, although they will know the most important thing.
Inside the Island we are going to find a small center, where all the businesses one needs will be, like any city! Right there we will find tourism agencies, where we have a variety of prices, and different excursions. I hired a 2-day package that took us to various places in a van, where a guide explained everything to us. And the next day we were going to see an incredible sunrise, although the weather did not help me.
What are the Moái?
Before going on to explain each place, I wanted to tell you what the MOAI are, what their meaning is, what they built it for, etc.
The Moai are gigantic stone statues built by the natives of Easter Island. They are the largest cultural expression of the inhabitants of this island and a faithful reflection to this day of their culture and traditions. In the Rapanui language the Moai are called Moai Aringa Ora. The exact translation is “the living face of our ancestors.” The guide we had, explained to us how their ancestors told them the stories, until with the passage of time everything was lost.
These stone giants were built in order to remember and preserve the energy of the natives who had died. This was very important to them who believed that the non-living possessed an energy called “mana” with which they controlled and protected the tribe and controlled crops, crops and animals. The moai channeled the energy (the mana) and drew it to the ground.
There are two types of materials with which the moai were built. Red slag, basalt and trachyte.
The first thing they should know is that the moai were carved directly from the rock and right there they began to sculpt and work.
Hanga Roa
It is a town with two main streets, there are no traffic lights, there is no traffic, the houses are simple and colorful. Everyone recommended me to eat the famous tuna empanadas on the island, and so I did, A large empanada of exquisite flavor, there are varieties with cheese, or with other ingredients that I no longer dared to order.
Everyone on the island has always known each other or is directly family members. But tourists invaded so much that they are becoming more businesspeople. There are some churches, and the mail. Important place, because here we can stamp our passport for free.
Some nights in different places there are super recommended shows. In them they will see traditional Rapa Nui and Polynesian dances, you will hear the most ancient melodies and you will understand a little better the Rapa Nui culture. They will surely like it.
Rano Raraku Volcano
The Rano Raraku volcano is one of the most incredible archaeological sites I have ever seen. In this place full of mystery the moai were made, the factory we could say, is 20 km from Hanga Roa and I arrived here with the excursion that I told you previously.
In addition to its great archaeological relevance, Rano Raraku is one of the most interesting volcanic centers of Easter Island from a geological point of view, it has a maximum height of 160 meters. Inside there is a freshwater lagoon about 3 to 4 meters deep caused by the frequent rainfall that the island suffers.
In this place they carved and then transferred the moai, today there are several half-finished and another that were halfway.
You may wonder, how did they move it ?, since they weigh several tons. Various experiments show that by tying ropes from the moai’s head and with groups of native to the left and right pulling these ropes, they managed to move this giant statue in very short steps.
Across the island, more than 900 moais have been counted. They include those who are not finished and also those who have suffered deterioration either by the passage of time or by the internal wars that the natives suffered hundreds of years ago. The vast majority are in this place (more than 400)
On the island you can rent a car, motorcycles, and bicycles to be able to explore it in its entirety, the best thing is the car but since it was out of my budget I rented a bicycle, I assure you that it was tiresome to pedal uphill in some places, and when It starts to get scary at night, because we don’t have any light, nor a paved road. But the feeling of freedom and walking through these places is unique, I was even able to fly my drone to take some shots that you will see in the video.
Ahu Tongariki - The 15 largest moais in Rapa Nui
I went 2 times to this site, where there are 15 stone giants, a 100-meter-long altar and a unique landscape in the whole world. It is the largest building on the entire island and the largest monument in all of Polynesia.
They are all standing next to each other, they are a must-see and the most representative figure in the entire area. If you go behind this Ahu and look back at the stone giants, there is the platform that supports them and you will find a wall of more than 4 meters that supports and protects them.
A few meters from this Ahu there is also a moai lying on his back on the floor. Although his eye sockets are not carved, his position resembles a man looking at the sky and the stars.
I just told them that I came to this place twice, the other opportunity I had was on the last day and it was an excursion that I had scheduled and it was to see the sunrise in this place. The truck picked me up very early at 5 a.m. It was still dark, and after going through other people’s hotels, we went to this magical place.
The weather did not help us much because it was cloudy, and it was about 30 minutes before the sun rises behind the 15 Moais. Dozens of cars began to arrive, and transfer. We opened the doors of the place, and there I put my gopro to record that moment. As I just said, it was not as expected due to the weather, but these are some of the photos.
You can read my last post:
Flight to EVEREST: See the top of the world
