How to get to Easter Island from Chile. Mysterious trip to Easter Island
Hititeairagi, Rapa Nui, Te Pito o te whenua, Tekaowhangoaru are all other names for the area we know as Easter Island. For most people, Easter Island is associated with something mysterious - and no wonder: it is famous for the huge stone statues lined up along the shore. They look with drawn eyes into the ocean, and this look is both creepy and mesmerizing. One of the main questions is how did these 10-meter idols get there? - still remains unresolved. Tourists flock here in the hope of unraveling the mystery, but return home covered in souvenirs and... without an answer.
Easter Island
How to get there
Easter Island is part of Valparaiso, one of the regions of Chile. There are two ways to get to the island, both of which are expensive. The first is on a tourist yacht or cruise ship, which sometimes come here. You can go to independent travel and in a couple of weeks call at the port.
The second method is by air; the island has an airport that accepts flights from the capital of Chile, Santiago, Tahiti and Lima. Flight schedules vary depending on the time of year: for example, from December to March, flights operate only once a week. In other months - twice a week. The flight from Santiago lasts about 5 hours.
Search for flights to Santiago (the closest airport to Easter Island)
Transport
All the attractions of the island are located close to each other, and the territory itself is small. On Easter Island you can take a taxi, bike or rent a car. It is almost impossible to get lost on the island, since there are only two roads.
The average cost of renting a car is from 80 USD per day with a full tank of gasoline. By the way, it is better to refuel completely - this will be difficult to do on the island. Prices on the page are as of September 2018.
Beaches of Easter Island
There are several beaches on Easter Island, but Anakena is the best choice. Local residents even warn that they can only swim here. There are several cafes on the sandy beach, and in general the local landscape is somewhat reminiscent Black Sea coast: there are stalls with cold water on the beach, natives are selling sweets and other snacks, the smell of barbecue is in the air. Only instead of the sea there is an ocean.
Cuisine and restaurants
There are quite a few small cafes on the island where you can have an inexpensive meal. On the menu you should choose seafood dishes, such as soup or tuna steak. In general, the steaks here are very good - made from meat and fish, with potatoes and herbs. Local beer is soft and very pleasant.
Some restaurants are built very close to the water. They stand on stilts, and the owners of the establishment can demolish one of the walls so that visitors can admire the view of the ocean.
Easter Island Hotels
There is only one town on the island where you can stay in a hotel - Hanga Roa. Most tourists prefer mini-hotels rather than chain operators, and yet the cost of living is rather high. The fact is that many goods are imported to the island from the mainland, which increases their price. The most expensive hotel on the island is Explora EN RAPA NUI. There are 30 rooms, a restaurant with an outdoor terrace, a bar, a souvenir boutique, an outdoor swimming pool, a massage parlor, and an outdoor jacuzzi.
One of the ways for island residents to earn money is by renting out apartments. At the airport, each new plane is greeted by a crowd of local residents, vying with each other to offer accommodation in hotels or in their homes.
There is also a campsite on the island - here you can pitch a tent or rent a very simple room for little money, and with internet. To get to the campsite, you need to find a guide at the airport with a sign Mihinoa - that’s the name of the place where you’ll be staying.
Stores
The sale of souvenirs is one of the main sources of income for the islanders. You can buy idols in shops and shops different sizes, from pocket to 2-3 meter. The main thing is that you can take this piece of wood out of the country to your homeland. Particularly popular are statues of “kawakawa” - either a person or a ghost - and, of course, magnets, necklaces, beads, hats, headbands, and embroidered shoes.
Entertainment and attractions of Easter Island
Moai
Stone moai are carved from petrified volcanic ash. These are stylized human figures with short bodies and elongated heads. The weight of each idol reaches almost 20 tons. According to local beliefs, they contain the supernatural power of the ancestors of the first king of Easter Island - Hotu Matua.
Moai stand along the coast and look out over the island. Hundreds of books have been written and films have been made about the history of their origin, but there is still no solution. Some believe that they were brought to the island by aliens, others are sure that such statues could only be made by human giants 3-4 meters tall. Another version is that these idols themselves came to the island, but subsequently forgot how to walk and remained here forever. There are about 900 statues on the island, most of them are located near the Rano Raraku volcano.
Volcanoes
The craters of the Rano Kau and Rano Raraku volcanoes are another attraction of Easter Island. It was from the remains of Rano Raraku that the moai were made. Unfinished statues are scattered in the pit of this volcano. The view inside Rano Kau is breathtaking - the crater is filled with rainwater, covered with islands of grass, and the sky is reflected in this giant lake.
Orongo village
The ceremonial village of Orongo is located on the edge of the Rano Kau crater. Ceremonies dedicated to the birdman were once held here. In the village you can find many cobblestones on which images of the god Make-Make and the bird-man are carved.
Hanga Roa Church
This is a Catholic church famous for its wood carvings. Looking at it, it seems that the building itself is carved from wood. Crafts are practiced here, and music services are held on Sundays.
5 things to do on Easter Island:
- At the end of January - beginning of February, visit the unique Tapati festival, which probably has no analogues in the world. It takes place at the end of January or beginning of February. “Tapati” is a cross-section of Easter Island culture, and not an export version, but the real one. The natives sing, dance and measure their strength.
- Ascend to the ceremonial site of Te Pito-te-whenua, whose name means “navel of the earth” in Rapanui.
- Have a romantic picnic in the palm groves of Anakena Bay.
- Come up with your own legend about the moai - and then tell it to the locals. They love to hear versions of how the statues appeared at Easter. They will listen to you carefully, maybe they will write down your story, if it is unique, and place it in the collection of works of tourists.
- Visit the village of Orongo and see numerous petroglyphs with images of bird-men and the god Make-Make. By the way, this island invented its own writing - rongo-rongo, which has not yet been deciphered.
The mysterious location is so secluded in the Pacific Ocean that it takes at least 4-5 hours to get to it by plane from any nearby land.
It is the easternmost of the Polynesian islands. From the Chilean coast of South America to Easter Island is about 3,700 km, and from Pitcairn Island is approximately 2,000 km.
Since there are no planes from Pitcairn Island, the closest point to the west that can be reached by plane is the island of Tahiti.
How to get to Easter Island
For Russians, it is preferable to get to Easter Island through Chile - since Chile is visa-free for Russian citizens country. And when flying through Tahiti, you must open a French visa for overseas territories.
You can also fly to Easter Island from Lima (Peru) without a visa.
Flights are operated by Lan (lan.com) - on their website you will find flights from Lima and Santiago. Flights take the same time, but the cost of a flight from Lima is half that of Santiago.
Easter Island itself is Chilean territory - and therefore entry to the island is visa-free for Russians.
History of Easter Island
When Thor Heyerdahl arrived on Easter Island, he was going to prove that the island was inhabited by people from South America. Currently, this theory is not confirmed, and it is believed that the island was inhabited by inhabitants of the Polynesian islands. The date of this settlement is not precisely established and varies from 300 to 1200 AD.
The local population is called Rapanui, one of the names of Easter Island is Rapa Nui.
Before the arrival of man, Easter Island was wooded and fertile. Volcanic soils provided food for several tens of thousands of people, despite the fact that the island is small (if desired, you can walk around its perimeter in a day)
But deforestation, followed by soil erosion, turned the fertile island into a bare, uncomfortable landscape that could no longer feed so many people, and their number decreased several times.
At the time of the Dutchman's arrival Jacob Roggeveen, who gave the name to the island, there were only 2-3 thousand people on the island. The island was named Easter Island because it was discovered on Easter Day.
The population then declined due to export to the mainland as slave labor, and at the end of the 18th century there were just over a hundred local residents on Easter Island. Now, due to the development of tourism, the population is increasing and today about 5 thousand people live on the island, of which 2 thousand are indigenous.
Easter Island (or Rapa Nui) is one of the most remote inhabited islands in the world, and thanks largely to its isolation, Rapa Nui's history is unique. There are many scientific hypotheses and guesses regarding the time of settlement of Rapa Nui, the racial background of the local residents, and the cause of death unique civilization, whose representatives built huge stone sculptures (moai) and knew writing (rongo-rongo), which has not yet been deciphered by linguists. With the discovery of the island in 1722 by the Dutch traveler Jacob Roggeveen.
Easter Island is a piece of desert land belonging to Chile, lost in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is known throughout the world for its unique giant stone statues, as if keeping its secrets. And one of the main ones: what catastrophe had to happen for the island civilization to die out? For several centuries, scientists have been trying to find the answer to this question.
The Dutch admiral Jacob Roggeveen, who set out from Amsterdam in search of Davis Land, was, of course, not the first European to discover Easter Island. But he was the first to describe it and determine the coordinates. And the name of the island was given by Roggeveen, whose ships (and there were three of them) moored to it on the day of the great Christian holiday Holy Easter, April 5, 1722. As Roggeveen reported in his notes, when they came ashore, the sailors saw that the locals “had lit fires in front of very tall stone statues... which amazed us, since we could not understand how these people, having neither timber nor strong ropes, could build them." At that time, about two to three thousand natives lived in the territory discovered by Roggeveen, who called the island Rapa Nui, that is, “the navel of the earth.”
Captain James Cook landed on the island in 1774 and was as amazed as Roggeveen, noting the incredible contrast between the magnificent giant statues of Rapa Nui and the wretched life of the indigenous population: “It was difficult for us to imagine how the islanders, deprived of technology, were able to erect these amazing figures and in addition, place huge cylindrical stones on their heads.”
Four years before Cook, the Spanish colonial administrator of Peru, seeking to annex Easter Island, sent a ship to its shores under the command of Felipe Gonzalez de Haedo. This step was explained simply: Spain, wanting to secure its American colonies, decided to seize the territories that lay near them. Gonzalez's few days on the island allowed him to draw up his first detailed map.
Completely inexplicable were about 200 giant stone sculptures - “Moai”, located on massive pedestals along the coast of the island with pathetic vegetation, far from the quarries. Most of the statues were located on massive pedestals. At least 700 more sculptures, in varying degrees of completion, were left in quarries or on ancient roads connecting the quarries with the coast. It seemed as if the sculptors suddenly abandoned their tools and stopped working...
Distant masters carved “moai” on the slopes of the Rano Roraku volcano, located in the eastern part of the island, from soft volcanic tuff. Then the finished statues were lowered down the slope and placed along the perimeter of the island, over a distance of more than 10 km. The height of most idols ranges from five to seven meters, while later sculptures reached 10 and 12 meters. The tuff, or, as it is also called, pumice, from which they are made, has a sponge-like structure and easily crumbles even with a slight impact on it. so the average weight of a “moai” does not exceed 5 tons. Stone ahu - platform-pedestals: reached 150 m in length and 3 m in height, and consisted of pieces weighing up to 10 tons.
At one time, Admiral Roggeveen, recalling his trip to the island, claimed that the aborigines lit fires in front of the “moai” idols and squatted next to them, bowing their heads. After that, they folded their hands and swung them up and down. Of course, this observation is not able to explain who the idols really were for the islanders.
Roggeveen and his companions could not understand how, without using thick wooden rollers and strong ropes, it was possible to move and install such blocks. The islanders had no wheels, no draft animals, and no other source of energy other than their own muscles. Ancient legends say that the statues walked on their own. There is no point in asking how this actually happened, because there is no documentary evidence left anyway. There are many hypotheses about the movement of the "moai", some are even confirmed by experiments, but all this proves only one thing - it was possible in principle. And the statues were moved by the inhabitants of the island and no one else. So why did they do this? This is where the differences begin.
It is also surprising that in 1770 the statues were still standing. James Cook, who visited the island in 1774, mentioned the lying statues; no one had noticed anything like this before him. IN last time standing idols were seen in 1830. Then a French squadron entered the island. Since then, no one has seen the original statues, that is, installed by the inhabitants of the island themselves. Everything that exists on the island today was restored in the 20th century. The last restoration of fifteen “moai” located between the Rano Roraku volcano and the Poike Peninsula occurred relatively recently - from 1992 to 1995. Moreover, restoration work Japanese.
In the second half of the 19th century, the cult of the bird man also died. This strange, unique ritual for all of Polynesia was dedicated to Makemaka, the supreme deity of the islanders. The chosen one became his earthly incarnation. Moreover, interestingly, elections were held regularly, once a year. At the same time, servants or warriors took the most active part in them. It depended on them whether their owner, the head family clan, Tangata-manu, or bird-man. It is to this ritual that the main cult center, the rock village of Orongo, owes its origins. big volcano Rano Kao is at the western tip of the island. Although, perhaps, Orongo existed long before the emergence of the cult of Tangata-manu. Legends say that the heir to the legendary Hotu Matua, the first leader to arrive on the island, was born here. In turn, his descendants, hundreds of years later, themselves gave the signal for the start of the annual competition.
In the spring, messengers of the god Makemake - black sea swallows - flew to the small islands of Motu-Kao-Kao, Motu-Iti and Motu-Nui, located not far from the coast. The warrior who was the first to find the first egg of these birds and swim it to his master received seven beautiful women as a reward. Well, the owner became a leader, or rather, a bird-man, receiving universal respect, honor and privileges. Last ceremony Tangata Manu took place in the 60s of the 19th century. After the disastrous Peruvian pirate raid of 1862, when the pirates took everyone into slavery male population islands, there was no one and no one to choose the bird-man from.
Why did the Easter Island natives carve moai statues in a quarry? Why did they stop this activity? The society that created the statues must have been significantly different from the 2,000 people Roggeveen saw. It had to be well organized. What happened to him?
For more than two and a half centuries, the mystery of Easter Island remained unsolved. Most theories about the history and development of Easter Island are based on oral traditions. This happens because no one still can understand what is written in written sources - the famous tablets “ko hau motu mo rongorongo”, which roughly means a manuscript for recitation. Most of them were destroyed by Christian missionaries, but those that survived could probably shed light on the history of this mysterious island. And although scientific world I was more than once excited by reports that ancient writings had finally been deciphered; upon careful verification, all this turned out to be a not very accurate interpretation of oral facts and legends
Several years ago, paleontologist David Steadman and several other researchers carried out the first systematic study of Easter Island in order to find out what its plant life and fauna. The result is evidence for a new, surprising and instructive interpretation of the history of its settlers.
Easter Island was settled around 400 AD. e. The islanders grew bananas, taro, sweet potatoes, sugar cane, and mulberries. In addition to chickens, there were also rats on the island, which arrived with the first settlers.
The period of production of the statues dates back to 1200-1500. The number of inhabitants by that time ranged from 7,000 to 20,000 people. To lift and move the statue, several hundred people were enough, who used ropes and rollers from trees, which were available in sufficient quantities at that time.
The painstaking work of archaeologists and paleontologists has shown that approximately 30,000 years before the arrival of people and in the first years of their stay, the island was not at all as deserted as it is now. A subtropical forest of trees and undergrowth rose above the shrubs, grasses, ferns and turf. The forest contained tree daisies, hauhau trees, which can be used to make ropes, and toromiro, which is useful as fuel. There were also varieties of palm trees that are not now on the island, but formerly there were so many of them that the base of the trees was densely covered with their pollen. They are related to the Chilean palm, which grows up to 32 m and has a diameter of up to 2 m. Tall, branchless trunks were ideal material for skating rinks and canoe construction. They also provided edible nuts and juice from which the Chileans made sugar, syrup, wine and collected honey from the sotah. A unique subspecies, Apis mellifera, has developed on the island. DNA testing of local bees will clarify this issue. But today, according to P. Aldea, it is clear that local bees represent valuable biological material for scientific research and experiments, as well as a unique resource for the development of practical beekeeping. Local bees are distinguished not only by good health, but also by exceptional hard work: they can produce 90-120 kg of marketable honey per season, which lasts 11 months a year on Easter Island. You can read how honey in combs differs from regular honey. The number of beekeepers and bee colonies on Easter Island is not reported. Apparently, we can only talk about a few dozen beekeepers and several hundred bee families. According to researchers, there are also wild bees on the island that live in caves and rock crevices.
The relatively cold coastal waters provided fishing in only a few places. The main marine prey were dolphins and seals. To hunt them, they went out into the open sea and used harpoons. Before people came, the island was ideal place for the birds, because they did not have any enemies here. Albatrosses, gannets, frigate birds, fulmars, parrots and other birds nested here - 25 species in total. It was probably the richest nesting site in the entire Pacific Ocean.
Around the 800s, forest destruction began. Layers are becoming more common charcoal from forest fires, there was less and less tree pollen and more and more pollen from grasses that replaced the forest. No later than 1400, the palm trees disappeared completely, not only as a result of cutting down, but also because of the ubiquitous rats, which did not give them the opportunity to recover: a dozen surviving remains of nuts preserved in the caves showed signs of being chewed by rats. Such nuts could not germinate. The hauhau trees did not disappear completely, but there were no longer enough of them to make ropes.
In the 15th century, not only the palm trees disappeared, but the entire forest disappeared. It was destroyed by people who cleared areas for gardens, cut down trees to build canoes, to make skating rinks for sculptures, and for heating. The rats ate the seeds. It is likely that the birds died out due to polluted flowers and a decrease in fruit yield. The same thing happened that happens everywhere in the world where forests are destroyed: most of the forest inhabitants disappear. All species of local birds and animals have disappeared on the island. All coastal fish were also caught. Small snails were used as food. From the diet of people by the 15th century. the dolphins disappeared: there was nothing to go out to sea on, and there was nothing to make harpoons from. It came down to cannibalism.
The paradise that opened to the first settlers became almost lifeless 1600 years later. Fertile soils, abundant food, plenty building materials, sufficient living space, all opportunities for a comfortable existence were destroyed. At the time of Heyerdahl's visit to the island, there was only a toromiro tree on the island; now he is no longer there.
It all started with the fact that several centuries after arriving on the island, people began, like their Polynesian ancestors, to install stone idols on platforms. Over time, the statues became larger; their heads began to be decorated with red 10-ton crowns; the spiral of competition was unwinding; Rival clans tried to outdo each other with displays of health and strength like the Egyptians building their giant pyramids. On the island, as in modern America, there was a complex political system distribution of available resources and integration of the economy in various areas.
The ever-growing population depleted the forests faster than they could regenerate; vegetable gardens took up more and more space; the soil, devoid of forests, springs and streams dried up; the trees that were spent on transporting and lifting the statues, as well as on building canoes and dwellings, were not enough even for cooking. As birds and animals were destroyed, famine set in. The fertility of arable lands decreased due to wind and rain erosion. Droughts have begun. Intensive chicken breeding and cannibalism did not solve the food problem. The statues, prepared for moving, with sunken cheeks and visible ribs, are evidence of the onset of hunger.
With food scarce, the islanders could no longer support the chiefs, bureaucracy, and shamans who administered the society. The surviving islanders told the first Europeans to visit them how the centralized system had been replaced by chaos and the warlike class had defeated the hereditary leaders. The stones appeared to depict spears and daggers made by the warring parties in the 1600s and 1700s; They are still scattered throughout Easter Island. By 1700 the population was between a quarter and a tenth of its former size. People moved into caves to hide from their enemies. Around 1770, rival clans began knocking over each other's statues and cutting off their heads. The last statue was toppled and desecrated in 1864.
As the picture of the decline of the civilization of Easter Island appeared before the researchers, they asked themselves: - Why didn’t they look back, didn’t realize what was happening, didn’t stop until it was too late? What were they thinking when they cut down the last palm tree?
Most likely, the disaster did not occur suddenly, but stretched out over several decades. The changes occurring in nature were not noticeable for one generation. Only old people, looking back on their childhood years, could realize what was happening and understand the threat posed by the destruction of forests, but the ruling class and stonemasons, afraid of losing their privileges and jobs, treated the warnings in the same way as today's loggers in the northwest: " Work is more important than forest!”
The trees gradually became smaller, thinner and less significant. Once upon a time, the last fruit-bearing palm was cut off, and the young shoots were destroyed along with the remains of bushes and undergrowth. No one noticed the death of the last young palm tree.
How to get there:
The only way to get to Easter Island is by plane. There are a lot of options, but tickets are not cheap. You can buy from Moscow before Easter with transfers, you can buy from Moscow - St. Petersburg to North America, then to South America, and from there until Easter, or directly to South America, and from there until Easter. In general, in any case, you will have to spend money on tickets. There are also very good option, when airlines offer special offers and reduce the cost of air tickets by half or even three times.
Here's my suggestion for how to get there before Easter. It is certainly not super cheap, but also not as expensive as one airline offers (the cost of a flight until Easter is 118 thousand rubles =))
The flight is carried out by Iberia airlines from Moscow to Santiago de Chile (I indicate the cost of tickets there and back) for 28,934 rubles. This is one of the cheapest flight specials. But from Santiago de Chile we buy a ticket to Easter Island. It will cost 199 euros through Lan Airlines.
I can suggest another option. We fly to Madrid, the cost of a round-trip ticket will be 179 euros through our Aeroflot, and from Madrid to Easter Island for 490 euros by Lan Airlines.
As you probably already knew, the road to Easter Island for everyone who wants to get there begins from airports in Chile or Tahiti. Travelers to visit the moai (famous idols of the island) are usually transported by LAN airlines, which fly from Santiago airport every day at twelve o'clock in the afternoon, and from Tahiti (Papeeti) once a week.
Just recently, a plane flew from Lima, but for some unknown reasons it did not justify itself at all and therefore today is the most in a simple way To get to Easter Island is considered to be a flight from Santiago. Of course, you are also aware that tickets must be purchased in advance. Prices start at $650 and up. Oddly enough, for some reason the cheapest flights take place on Fridays. Therefore, you need to look at websites, book in advance and look for cheaper options. In general, you need to carefully monitor all the discounts and offers on the LAN airline website.
If you book a tour to Easter Island, it will cost you incredibly much, and the long flights will simply exhaust you. In this case, if your flight will take place from European territory, then it is best for you to combine a visit to the island with sightseeing tour in one of the capitals of South America - Lima, Bogota, Santiago de Chile or Quito. In this case, you will be able to find cheaper tickets and at the same time relax after long flights, while diversifying your cultural program as much as possible.
As for organized tours from Moscow with a visit to Easter Island, the most popular here are tours to Chile, of course, because the island belongs to this state. In second, third and so on place in popularity we can name such tours as “Peru, Chile and Easter Island”, “Peru and Easter Island”, and also “Chile, Argentina and Easter Island”.
As a rule, such tours combining a visit to Easter Island along with the countries of Latin America last at least two weeks (but can also be of shorter duration), and their cost is approximately two to three thousand dollars per person. True, this includes absolutely all transfers, internal flights, visas, insurance, hotels, etc. 
So, if you flew to Easter Island on your own, then you will need to stay somewhere for a few days. It is best to choose your accommodation on such a well-known and popular site as Booking.com. There are campsites and more budget options, and with more comfortable living conditions.
Now, if you want to explore the island on your own, then you will need to rent some vehicle. Of course, a jeep is best, but a scooter is also an option. Fans of organized tourism can certainly take part in one of the excursions offered here. Its cost is approximately 35 dollars, they will take you to absolutely the same places, but they will also tell you a lot most interesting information about the history of the island.
If you examine everything on your own, then first of all, naturally, you need to go to the coast of the island to the Rapa Nui National Park, which, by the way, is under the auspices of the World Organization UNESCO. This is where the famous stone statues - Moai - are located, apparently made from compressed volcanic ash.
Statues made in the form human heads sometimes with hats, and sometimes without, sometimes reaching a height of up to 20 meters. Naturally, disputes still rage over how the statues got to the coast and who was able to deliver them there. Moreover, many statues remained lying in the quarries, as if someone was in a hurry and did not have time to simply deliver them to their destination. 
Then you need to visit another very interesting place on the island - the crater of the Rano Raraku volcano, there are also about three hundred statues. If you want to visit the crater of the Rano Kao volcano, do not forget that there is an excellent observation deck there. And inside the crater itself there is a very remarkable lake. Some tourists even make day trip along the crater.
And don’t forget to also take a look at the ceremonial village of Orongo, located near the edge of the crater. It has gained popularity among tourists due to its picturesque landscapes. In former times, certain rituals were held in the village dedicated to the cult of the bird or the bird-man. On the territory of the village you can see many cobblestones with carvings on them. It usually comes in two types - with the image of the local deity Make-Make or the bird-man.
You can take a look at one of the most beautiful beaches Easter Island - Anakena Bay. There is stunningly beautiful snow-white sand here. In addition to the fact that surfers are frequent guests in this bay, tourists also often have picnics in the nearby palm groves. Another very attractive beach on the island is Ovaje. It is located in the southern part of the island, but due to the fact that it is surrounded on all sides by rocks (very beautiful), it is not visited very often. 
Another very unusual attraction of Easter Island is the Catholic Church of Hanga Roa. It looks very attractive from the outside and inside you can admire the magnificent wood carvings and examples of the craft traditions of the local residents. On Sundays you can also attend a service with musical accompaniment.
Also on Easter Island you can (and should) take a walk to the caves, many of them are accessible and can be easily visited. But there is also a whole series caves that are still very poorly studied, so if you want to become their discoverer, go for it. And finally, for cultural development, you can go to the Anthropological Museum of the island, named after Father Sebastian Englert, and visit a large library with a huge collection of books dedicated to the culture, history and ongoing study of Easter Island.
small island total area 165 km2, located in the Pacific Ocean, virtually on the edge of the earth, contains many mysteries and secrets. No one still knows which peoples sculpted 887 sculptures from frozen volcanic lava, scattered throughout the island. The reader will learn from this article what amazing natural attractions there are in those parts and what are the features of a holiday on Easter Island.
Several decades ago, Soyuzpechat kiosks sold an amazing book by the famous traveler Thor Heyerdahl about Easter Island. In it, in great detail, the researcher shared with readers all over the world his impressions of this place, remote from civilization, which was very difficult for ordinary tourists to get to.
This island got its name due to the fact that the Dutch sailors who found it in the ocean set foot on its land in Easter days 1722. So an unnamed piece of land in the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean, which had triangular shape and formed as a result of volcanic lava frozen in water, was named Easter Island.
The indigenous population of the island owns only 40 km2 of land; the rest of the territory is a National Park protected by law.
Sculptural group in the center of the island The climate on Easter Island is subtropical. There are no snowy winters here; there is warm air and warm ocean water all year round.
The highest daytime temperatures occur in the winter months. In February, for example, the thermometer can show up to + 26 degrees Celsius, at night it will be somewhere around 23-24 degrees, and the water temperature will be between 23-25 degrees.
Due to the fact that the territory of the island is open and not protected by mountain ranges, angry oceanic winds often rage here, and sometimes inhospitable rains pour down. But the small continent does not lose its charms and exoticism.
The island is separated by 3.5 thousand kilometers from Chile, whose territory it is.
Another interesting fact is that there is not a single tree on the island, but only desert vegetation. There are no rivers or streams. All fresh rainwater accumulates in three lakes of volcanic origin.
Easter Island on the map:
How to get from Russia to Easter Island?
If Russian tourists are planning to fly from Easter Island, they definitely need to find a website for cheap air tickets and buy it online there.
From the capital of the Russian Federation you can fly to Chisinau, Paris, Rome, Santiago, Frankfurt am Main, from where airliners of foreign companies take travelers to the “mysterious island”.
Directly ahead is Easter Island The cost of round trip tickets starts from 120 thousand Russian rubles.
All foreign planes allow baggage up to 23 kg free of charge; in case of excess, you will have to pay extra for it.
Easter Island has its own international airport, located 7 km from the capital Hanga Roa. It is called Mataveri. Due to the fact that people began to fly here large number tourists from all over the world, local authorities began a hasty reconstruction of their airport terminal so that it complies with all modern technical requirements and standards.
Where do tourists live?
Unlike other resort areas, there are no sanatoriums or hospitals on Easter Island. Local authorities, caring about the beauty of the landscape, did not allow the owners of large and world-famous hotel complexes onto their land, reserving the right to decide for themselves what and where to build here.
There are hotels for guests to stay at Easter. The highest star rating of these guest houses is “3”. In addition to them, guests in full swing Bungalows, as well as rooms and beds, are available for rent from local homeowners.
Russian tourists who have already visited the Pacific island say that at the airport you can easily find a kind-hearted owner of a private house who will host guests “for cheap”.
However, not every traveler will be satisfied with this option, so let’s visit the portals for booking island real estate and hotels and see what they offer.
The eyes of a quick tourist will not run away in all directions: there are only 22 hotels on the island.
A more or less decent hotel on the island will cost from 100 – 350 US dollars per night. Not everyone will be happy with this.
This is what bungalows look like on Easter Island Bungalows - one-story panel houses - are rented for the day. Depending on the furnishings of the premises, prices start from 40 and end at 120 USD.
In the private sector, as some Russians write on forums, you can negotiate up to 25 or even 20 dollars per night.
Chain of cafes and restaurants on Easter Island
The capital Hanga Row has cafeterias, restaurants, inexpensive McDonald's cafeterias and a chain of privately owned small eateries.
Since the island lies in the middle of the ocean, most local dishes are made from marine life: fish, poultry, shellfish meat. The national dish is considered to be curanto, which is cooked over coals.
It contains vegetables, poultry, fish and sweet potatoes. Minced meat and vegetables are wrapped in banana leaves and baked over a fire. Eyewitnesses write that preparing the delicacy has turned into a whole ritual, gathering dozens of curious travelers around it.
Being an international tourist center, the capital's restaurants can delight visitors with dishes of various cuisines, including Russian and Ukrainian. But the food we are accustomed to is exotic for other tourists, and therefore costs a lot of money.
While on Easter Island, it is better to try their dishes than to be nostalgic for domestic food, paying a lot of money for it.
Edible gifts from the ocean on the table In restaurants on the island, tourists write, the service is quite slow. But this is the local tradition, where they are guided by the principle that there is no need to rush anywhere in life.
Each catering establishment has its own prices, so it is premature to indicate any price list for fish or vegetable dishes in the article. Once on the island, tourists themselves will figure out what to eat or go a little hungry while exploring the local attractions.
What is interesting to tourists?
The symbol of Easter Island is considered to be 887 stone idols that are scattered throughout the island. No one today knows who sculpted them, but everyone knows well that they cannot be touched, only looked at.
Of no less interest to foreign travelers are two extinct volcano Rano Raraku and Rano Kau, which offer group excursions. Ana te Pau Cave and Anakena Beach are also two mysterious and intriguing places in the vicinity of the capital of Easter Island.
There are many legends about Moai monuments. Modern science It is completely unknown and incomprehensible who built these sculptural rows on the soil of Chile: either aliens, or the disappeared population of the island, who lived there several thousand years ago.
They also say that you need to see the mysterious statues with your own eyes in order to feel all the energy they emit.
The customs, rituals and traditions of the local population, which can be seen during a trip to a piece of land in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, will leave an unforgettable and indelible memory for everyone who has visited Easter Island.
You can explore the island accompanied by local guides or on your own. To do this, people rent cars, scooters or motorcycles and go along the routes that interest them.
In addition to what has been said, you can also:
- Go to the Tapati festival. It has no analogues in the world. It is held at the end of winter. The peculiarity of the holiday is that the aborigines take part in it. They sing and dance. You can also see competitions between representatives of the indigenous population.
- It is worth visiting the world-famous place “The Navel of the Earth”.
- Come up with your own theory about where the stone idols came from. The indigenous population loves to hear new stories about where the statues came from. Who knows, maybe later this story will be immortalized.
Prices
The cost of a holiday on Easter Island depends on many factors. First of all, it is worth noting the features of the tour. Many travel companies offer the population last-minute trips that allow them to visit Latin American countries. The duration of such a trip is about two weeks. During this time, you can visit not only Easter Island, but also Argentina, Peru, Chile and other countries. The cost of such a trip is more than 3 thousand dollars. This includes costs for flights, accommodation and insurance.
Easter Island Beach Holidays
There is amazingly light sand, crystal clear water and a gentle slope of the bottom into the depths of the ocean.
Picturesque island harbor This bay and its beach are intended exclusively for lovers of silence and communication with nature. For those who know how to listen to the sound of the sea surf, how the light sand rustles under the blowing wind, for those who know how to admire the cloudless heights of the sky and the blue water of the boundless ocean.
However, diving and other extreme sports like surfing are also available here. Ocean waves in this area in stormy weather can reach a height of five meters, which is quite dangerous for inexperienced athletes to ride on boards. Their recklessness could end in tragedy.
Yachting enthusiasts have the opportunity to rent from local rental companies motor boat, an ordinary rowing boat under sail or a small yacht. There is a rental of catamarans, pedal boats and motorcycles.
Precautions for tourists
When traveling far from home, you should always think about your health and safety. On your trip, you need to take hats and anti-inflammatory creams with you. sunburn and local winds that dry out the skin of the face and other parts of the body.
You need to have a first aid kit with you with the necessary medications in case of severe headaches, diarrhea, which can be caused by local delicacies, as well as those medications that a particular traveler often resorts to.
We should not forget about an insurance policy, which can be a “lifeline” in the event of an unexpected illness or theft of a tourist’s personal property on Easter Island.
The subtropical climate of the Pacific Ocean can cause various ailments in weather-sensitive people. Therefore, it is better for this category of citizens not to risk their health and life by traveling distant lands from home in order to get acquainted with stone idols and the craters of extinct volcanoes.
With the stormy Pacific Ocean it's dangerous to joke Fans of diving and surfing should think about their safety when some are on the surface of the stormy ocean, and others are exploring the depths of the sea, where there are plenty of octopuses, sharks and large jellyfish that can burn exposed skin.
The Pacific Ocean and its inhabitants do not forgive the inhabitants of the earth frivolity.
These are the parting words to tourists who are planning to visit Easter Island - a place of amazing and even mystical story which will leave, perhaps, no one indifferent.
5 incredible facts about the island's statues:
