Easter Island -At The Edge of the World

Rapa Nui, Chile

There are some places you visit because you want a holiday. And then there are places you visit simply because you can’t quite believe they exist.

For us, Easter Island — Rapa Nui — was the latter.

Sitting alone in the vast Pacific Ocean, thousands of kilometres from continental South America, Rapa Nui feels wonderfully remote. Getting there is part of the experience. From Santiago, Chile, the flight is roughly five hours — five hours heading west across an enormous expanse of Pacific before this tiny volcanic island finally appears below.

And once you’re there, the pace changes.

The first thing we noticed: the peace

Rapa Nui is remarkably peaceful.

There isn’t the frantic energy you find in many heavily visited destinations. Things seem to move more slowly here, and we loved that. The island invites you to stop rushing, look around and simply take in where you are.

The local people we encountered were warm and friendly, and despite Easter Island’s international fame, it still felt very much like an island community rather than a giant tourist attraction.

And then, of course, there are the moai.

Nothing prepares you for seeing them

You’ve seen them in photographs. You’ve seen them in documentaries. You know exactly what they look like.

It doesn’t matter.

Standing beside a moai is completely different.

Some rise dramatically from the landscape. Others appear almost unexpectedly along grassy hillsides. At Rano Raraku, the volcanic quarry where most of the island’s moai were carved, figures seem to emerge directly from the earth.

Some are upright. Some lean. Some are partially buried. Others remain unfinished.

Walking among them is extraordinary.

Their scale is impressive, but what stayed with us even more was the setting: huge skies, brilliant green hills, volcanic rock and these enormous stone figures silently looking out across a landscape where they have stood for centuries.

At Ahu Tongariki, the sight of fifteen moai standing together on their restored ceremonial platform is spectacular. It is one of those travel moments when taking another photograph almost seems pointless — although, naturally, we took plenty.

Easter Island is not a cheap destination

There is one thing prospective visitors should know: Rapa Nui is expensive.

Its extraordinary isolation means that almost everything has to travel a very long way to get there, and prices reflect that.

Accommodation in particular can be surprising. In our experience, the quality of many hotels doesn’t necessarily correspond to what you might expect for the price. You’re paying partly for being in one of the most remote inhabited islands on Earth.

If accommodation is an important part of your holiday and your budget permits it, going genuinely high-end makes a noticeable difference.

We stayed at Nayara Hangaroa, and that was another experience entirely.

The property is beautiful, with architecture that feels connected to the landscape rather than imposed upon it. Our room was spacious and distinctive, and waking up surrounded by the scenery of Rapa Nui made the hotel feel very much part of the trip rather than simply somewhere to sleep.

And the breakfast was fantastic.

One of our favourite little surprises? Horses wandering around outside. On Rapa Nui, apparently even the neighbours have four legs.

More than the statues

It would be easy to think Easter Island is simply a place you visit to see the moai.

It isn’t.

The moai may bring you there, but the island itself is what stays with you.

The volcanic landscape, the ocean, the enormous skies, the horses, the quiet roads and the feeling of being very, very far away from almost everything create an atmosphere unlike anywhere else we’ve travelled.

There is also something deeply moving about being surrounded by the physical remains of such an extraordinary Polynesian culture. The moai aren’t simply mysterious giant statues placed around the island for us to photograph. They are part of the history, spirituality and ancestry of the Rapa Nui people.

Remembering that changes the experience.

Would we go back?

Absolutely.

It’s expensive. It’s remote. Getting there takes some effort, and visitors expecting luxury at moderate hotel prices may be disappointed.

But none of that changes our feeling about the trip.

We loved Easter Island.

There are very few places where we have felt quite the same combination of isolation, beauty, history and peace.

Five hours west of Santiago, surrounded by thousands of kilometres of Pacific Ocean, stands a tiny island filled with enormous stone figures and an extraordinary living culture.

Sometimes you really do have to go somewhere just to understand why it matters.

Rapa Nui was one of those places.

— Adventure Lab Travel Log

*all photos taken by the author