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Rapa Nui / Easter Island
I don't think there have been many detailed reports in a while so I thought I'd share my recent experiences (end of March 2025). I know DeathSlam went there recently but I think I had a better experience!
As part of a bigger trip to deep South America, my daughter and I headed to Rapa Nui for a few days. We had stayed a restful night in Santiago in Providencia, and were once again back at the airport. I'd originally booked a flight at 9:10 am, so not too early, but the flight times were changed since then and we were bumped to an 8:15 flight. I never confirmed the change, and on certain days of the week, there are 2 daily flights to Rapa Nui. So last night I changed our flight time to the later one, at 10:35, so my daughter could sleep in a bit, and it was much appreciated. We arrived in plenty of time and went through the special document check for travelers to Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Isla de Pascua). You have to go through a similar process like border control, but not only is your passport checked, your accommodation booking and return flight booking are verified as well. It only took a few extra minutes because we were well prepared but I could see some people on the side scrambling last minute to find their documents and fill in the pre-departure form online. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...afa38de1d8.jpg You receive a PDI (immigration control) form just like you do when entering Chile once you've passed all this, and it gets handed over at flight boarding time. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...60e93f82cf.jpg We had plenty of time after that in a very busy lounge, the Salones VIP Pacific Club that was partially below grade level. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...dfc12a4a95.jpg The food wasn't very appealing. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...212a2fd064.jpg The bar wasn't open yet. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...9c8f59e602.jpg But it served its purpose to pass the time where we could have some snacks and drinks and relax before our next flight. Another LATAM Dreamliner flight today. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a30836bcc7.jpg J on this route is consistently available for approx $800 US round trip if you use a VPN and the Chile website. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a1e1fdaec8.jpg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...07666b445f.jpg The Santiago airport has a little forest in the middle of it. Very unexpected for such a dry, dusty place. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...49fce60241.jpg The dry air makes it a good place for long term aircraft storage though... we saw a few very interesting, ancient aircraft in the maintenance area. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e68259cd5e.jpg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...9d9c240109.jpg We rose above the unfortunate ever-present layer of smog over Santiago into a brilliant blue sky. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...254b838cd5.jpg And away from the city, it already started to clear up a bit. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...4ef01d457d.jpg Heading west, we passed over the rich agricultural and winelands of the Mallarauco and Maipo Valleys. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...dd3fad205a.jpg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...890cb987ce.jpg And before long, we were leaving the mainland of South America and over the Pacific Ocean for the next 5 hours. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...1d8cdda8c5.jpg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...f9de8d88af.jpg The view of just blue and clouds was broken up only by the Juan Fernandez Islands, about 700 km off the coast of Chile. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e40a8b9914.jpg Lunchtime! Accompanied by a delicious Chilean red wine blend. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a07f9bb9f0.jpg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...cb05e6326c.jpg The air pollution from Chile reached almost 1000 km out into the ocean. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5f8ee6f82c.jpg My daughter shared her after lunch chocolates with her new stuffie. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...6b5202d22d.jpg There was really nothing else to see until we were minutes away from landing. Mataveri International Aiport (IPC) is another one of those very small airports, where the plane has to turn around at the end of the runway to taxi back to the terminal. Rapa Nui itself is the most remote and isolated inhabited place on the planet. It is 3800 km from Santiago and Papeete, Tahiti, the next closest airport, is over 4200 km away, continuing west. Because of this, only one aircraft can be past the halfway point between Santiago and Mataveri at a time, as the alternate diversion airport in case of an issue at Mataveri is all the way back to Santiago. And checking the flight history for our flight, sometimes this happens! They can get all the way there and then have the airport socked in with thick fog, etc, and then passengers end up on a ten hour flight to nowhere. It's really far away from everything out here!! https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5d35708d49.jpg The earlier flight that were booked on until yesterday is getting ready to return to Santiago as we arrive. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...32fc07679c.jpg The captain invited my daughter to come to the cockpit for some photos on arrival as he was suitably impressed by her flight logbook. How many places are there going to be palm trees right outside the windshield of a Dreamliner! https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...498258af53.jpg Ah, here we are now. What a lovely place to step outside onto stairs to deplane. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...8917c43b3b.jpg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a090942b7c.jpg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a14fa76faf.jpg Iorana is the Rapa Nui greeting: it means both Hello and Goodbye. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...b6b3176df8.jpg This airport terminal is pretty sweet. A thatched roof hut in the style of the traditional Rapa Nui house. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...eb9efc39e7.jpg With honu (sea turtles) in the tile floor. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...89a29e6971.jpg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...9e2c34eff8.jpg And a carved wooden whale... https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5957376b40.jpg This was the extent of the entire arrivals area. Only one plane at a time here, remember! https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...1167b24c99.jpg After our luggage quickly came out, we were greeted by a staff member from the hotel, Juan, who welcomed us with fresh flower leis. We are staying at Hotel Ohana, a newer, very small hotel on the outskirts of the main town of Rapa Nui, Hanga Roa. Hanga means bay in Rapa Nui and we'll see the word everywhere over the next few days. Anyway, the hotel only has 9 rooms and was just gorgeous. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...642194afa0.jpg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...cd8316e4c8.jpg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...984a3e7dea.jpg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...82d192529f.jpg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...b17d4ca2fe.jpg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...0b54598532.jpg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...050c16e882.jpg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...066300d26c.jpg We checked out the pool, and being unheated, it was a bit chilly, but still refreshing after a day of travel. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...fc65c3a5dc.jpg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...bda55bf70b.jpg We ventured into town via taxi for dinner at a market style terrace joint right across the road from the ocean. One of the outlets did pizza (for my daughter) and another one smashburgers (for me). I also got a Pisco Sour since we were technically still in Chile. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...1df19dd75a.jpg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ea8b0480d2.jpg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...7c3ff8a430.jpg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...348f3170dc.jpg After dinner, we walked around a bit to explore. We stopped in the "fancy" supermarket of the island to pick up some snacks. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...68c8520c9e.jpg There was a bottle of Krug on the top shelf. Wonder how long it's been sitting up there. The interesting thing is that food and drink were the same price here as they were in Santiago, even in these small stores. I assume the Chilean government covers the costs of shipping everything from Valparaiso (by sea) or on the LATAM flight. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...6a760d21a9.jpg The town is really small, about 7,000 people. Lots of side streets are dirt and of course being tropical and on the leeward side of the island there is lush vegetation everywhere. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5c9dad8841.jpg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d9248a7ef5.jpg Oh yeah, and there were dogs literally everywhere in town. Apparently most of them have homes; they come out to visit tourists during the day to beg for snacks and attention. Then back home at dark for dinner and bed. They were all pretty well fed (ie: chubby!). We did not have much success trying to hail a taxi on the street - the few we saw driving by had passengers already - so we walked all the way back to the restaurant and asked them to call us one, which was no problem at all. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a1d28d9098.jpg So ends our first afternoon and evening here. Looking forward to the next few days! |
I visited Rapa Nui in 2019 and utterly loved it. Such an amazing place. I remember the doggos fondly!
The paint delamination on that 787 wing is quite interesting. I've flown on a LATAM 787-9 that had such an issue back in 2022, you'd have thought they'd have changed paint mix by now but... clearly not! |
Very good report - thanks for sharing. And yes, I'm with 13901 , the paint peeling off that 787 is concerning!
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Subscribed and looking forward to the report. I am glad I am not the only one who was troubled by the peeling paint.
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I liked the design on the bottle of wine offered mid flight that I think it would come home with me.
We went to Easter Island a couple decades back when flights only came in and out two days a week. It was a very strange feeling to know we could not leave for several days. I understand the amount of air and sea service has changed dramatically. Hotels were more guest homes when we went, other than the Explora which was literally an order of magnitude or more than we paid. It's nice to see a pleasant small hotel now available. I look forward to following along. It is a very special experience. We brought back two maoi boys, one with the cinder head piece, that I can see on our deck as I type this. |
Wow, amazing!
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Very exciting TR - thank you! Looking forward to more photos :-)
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Originally Posted by eightblack
(Post 37030353)
Very good report - thanks for sharing. And yes, I'm with 13901 , the paint peeling off that 787 is concerning!
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Another TR from Easter Island! Looking forward to more posts, photos and recommendations as I plan to visit it later this year.
enjoy your trip |
Yes, the missing paint patches all over the wing were a bit disconcerting, but there are several LATAM Dreamliners in this state... must be a bad paint application or something? Anyway, we got there in one piece... :-)
We are going out all day today on a tour of some of the national park sites. Since COVID, it is mandatory not only to have a park pass, but a licensed guide (which has to be a local) to enter most of the best sites. It is definitely expensive to have to do it this way, but I can see why they want to ensure that people living there are the ones financially benefitting from the unique tourism opportunities, rather than foreign owned tour companies. We picked up our park passes at the visitor center on one of the main streets in town. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...2262eb6904.jpg We went down the seaside road in town, where our guide Tito pointed out a small swimming area that was known for plentiful sea turtles that you can swim with. We saw a few of them swimming around from the rocky shore, but the lighting wasn't good enough for any pictures. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...264eb43308.jpg Going through town, we saw the main sports field which was busy on this Saturday morning. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e949dbab60.jpg And one of the schools. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...13755896d0.jpg Passing by the airport again, there was this National Geographic livery 757 being packed up. The plane actually belongs to Icelandair but after looking up its history it must be chartered for long periods of time by National Geographic as it had been to many exotic places in the southern hemisphere recently. A couple hours later when we were out at one of the moai sites, we saw this plane departing and turning back to the west, presumably en route to Tahiti. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...6d9bab50c5.jpg Here's a typical road view in the interior of Rapa Nui. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...1d2f097734.jpg Our first stop - Vaihu at Hanga Te'e. There was an entry office where the park staff will check and stamp your pass and verify that you're with a guide. This stop is a restored small settlement, with these rock greenhouses, built to protect crops from both wind and salt spray. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ee64c48111.jpg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...cda5865790.jpg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...7489bccbfc.jpg And rebuilt traditional, upside down canoe shaped houses - hare paenga. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e39dfbcff0.jpg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a9736f4ec5.jpg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...be9c1c5d6f.jpg There are a bunch of moai still laying face down here. This platform (ahu) has not been restored and it is how it was found. There are pukao (the headdresses made from red volcanic rock) laying on the ground as well. These are remnants of the Huri Moai period around the year 1700 when Moai culture came to an end, with much internal fighting and toppling of the statues at various places. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...97d45eb93f.jpg This circular area was a "paina" where ceremonial rituals were held. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...fed5e38e98.jpg The waves were crashing on the shore and it was easy to just sit and watch them for a long time. It felt super isolated out here. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...752b266978.jpg Next stop - Akahanga. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e4d058d610.jpg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...c92dc265e9.jpg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e99f0067f2.jpg All of the moai were knocked down here, as well. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...4d430c26b1.jpg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ef43202c66.jpg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d4b741c97d.jpg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...bae7b44a51.jpg Close to the sea, there were the remains of an umu pae - a stone oven. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5398fa5bdc.jpg This poor moai is face up, probably for the rest of time. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...801af39de8.jpg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...2b1cac34c8.jpg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...793d81f4f2.jpg The pukao over here have some beautiful petroglyphs. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a775190f6c.jpg Another fallen giant, face down, as most of them were left. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...f5598657df.jpg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5644d326bf.jpg We ventured into the cave Ana Akahanga to check it out, that was used as a temporary refuge from the elements, but not a permanent home. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...af58f7dfb1.jpg Back on the road, and we see one of the other prolific local groups: moo cows (not to be confused with pukaos) https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...edb72a1984.jpg Next stop is one of the coolest ones on the island. The quarry where all of the moai were manufactured: Rano Raraku. Rano Raraku is an old volcano. Rano is the Rapa Nui word for a volcano with a lagoon or lake within the crater. The volcanic rock created by this volcano is called Lapilli tuff, and it is the only place on the island with this type of rock, which was perfect for crafting the moai. It is estimated that this moai factory was in operation for approximately 500 years, ending in the mid-1700s; and 1200 moai were carved during this time. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...75f93758a1.jpg There are still many unanswered questions about the moai, but it is believed that they were created to represent deceased elites, rulers, and other important Rapa Nui ancestors. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...7ffe3feb43.jpg There was a display table with various types of volcanic rock at the site gate. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...cce27dcd11.jpg Moments after walking towards the hill, we saw a huge moai laying on its back for eternity. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...fd1018c967.jpg And then into the field of moai. Some were standing. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...2555e9a65e.jpg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...84d5f286c2.jpg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...63dc784dc2.jpg Some were leaning. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...7a74f11f49.jpg Many were buried most of the way up to their necks from years of slope erosion. It's a common misconception that the moai are simply heads, but the head is only 1/3 of the total size. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...c39aeabd80.jpg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...2435ebc0f0.jpg Even more were left under various stages of construction. In the center of this photo you can see a head looking up under the cliff face. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...f939e77d9e.jpg This slope was seaside when the volcano was active, but lava flows extended the land out to the present coastline we see in the distance. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ca3f4ef51b.jpg Here is the largest moai which was never finished. His name is Te Tokanga, 22 metres long, and weighing 200 tons. Theory is that this one was left in place because they never would have been able to move the statue. Remember, literally everything was done by hand. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...f45e085690.jpg Here is another moai that was closer to completion. You can see how they started with the head and then moved on to the rest of the body. All of the moai were carved like this - on their backs, with the head done first. We can see now how small the head is compared to the body. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...f55a9f81d1.jpg Ahu Tongariki is visible on the shores below. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...402066a5e5.jpg This one is Tukuturi Moai, the kneeling one. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...dc5c91c45b.jpg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...8870983a51.jpg There are 397 visible moai at Rano Raraku, and it was hard not to linger just looking at all of them with wonder. This is also the only site that was found with standing moai. All of the others were knocked down during the Huri Moai period. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5c7a298b01.jpg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...4e12e437de.jpg More moo cows. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a68c05675d.jpg A rain shower passes to the south of us... let's get some lunch! https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...7152de9210.jpg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...454a4983b0.jpg I had a ceviche platter - yum! My daughter had a huge grilled chicken sandwich, and Kem soda. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...041d449a83.jpg After lunch, back on the road down to Ahu Tongariki with its platform of 15 moai backdropped by the sea. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...96e0ab3adf.jpg This beautiful spot, one of the most important ceremonial sites on Rapa Nui, was nearly completely destroyed by a tsunami in 1960, generated by a magnitude 9.5 earthquake in Chile. The Japanese government became a partner in restoring this site to its former glory in the early 1990s. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ca8ba9a0a1.jpg The "travelling moai" welcomes visitors to the site at the gate. It is known as such as it was sent to Japan for an exhibition in 1982. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...44508f7505.jpg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...fbebc8b07d.jpg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...4b4369e186.jpg Just imagine having to move these statues down here from the hill above using only people and ropes. The moai were moved all over the island from the quarry, walked like bowling pins. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ddec5f3e66.jpg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...27efc187dc.jpg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...c98e80fc28.jpg Our last stop for the day will be Anakena. Not only a gorgeous sand beach with moai keeping guard, but the birthplace of Rapa Nui culture. It was the landing site of the first settlers of the island, who travelled by canoe from one of the more central Polynesian islands around 1500 years ago. Rapa Nui is the eastern extent of Polynesia. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...41b061e036.jpg Anakena is a public site, although it's in the park, a guide is not required, and there are several food and drink establishments. Many people were out enjoying the day, on the beach, barbecuing, or just relaxing. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...fc1e734a54.jpg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...116e22fc04.jpg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...faa34e4f4b.jpg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...7cec6b27b1.jpg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5e4428b090.jpg Even some roosters. But no dogs here! Too far from town? https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...8ba625024e.jpg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ac4821603c.jpg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...8f22c6756d.jpg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...9004d177f0.jpg After too short of a time at Anakena, wishing we'd remembered our swimsuits to go more than knee deep in the ocean, we headed back to the hotel and took a dip in the pool. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...1d3f2c263b.jpg The hotel although tiny does have a dinner offering. Only one choice, but I want to try it. Squid ink pasta with shrimp. It was delicious. The hotel staff ordered a pizza for delivery to Ellie, and we were both totally satisfied with the end of our amazing day on Rapa Nui. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...9ecbe2e863.jpg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...bfb71011f3.jpg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...c9287f9529.jpg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...8d688fd4e3.jpg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...51b10449f5.jpg |
Fantastic pictures. Thank you.
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Rapa Nui is very, very far from my home but this looks like a must visit.
Thank you for sharing. |
Absolute amazing. I’ve often googled Easter island and I’ve read articles. I still cannot comprehend how something so huge was able to have controlled erosion so that only the bodies below the head were covered with land. I can’t comprehend how so much stone was available in the first place to get carved.
like the pyramids, I can’t understand how this was all created with such fine precision. |
Is a very interesting destination
Originally Posted by gaobest
(Post 37033287)
Absolute amazing. I’ve often googled Easter island and I’ve read articles. I still cannot comprehend how something so huge was able to have controlled erosion so that only the bodies below the head were covered with land. I can’t comprehend how so much stone was available in the first place to get carved.
like the pyramids, I can’t understand how this was all created with such fine precision. |
Rapa Nui
Great report
Thanks |
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