Easter Island – Travel Guide At Wikivoyage

Understand

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Today's Poike Peninsula in the east was created by a volcanic eruption about three million years ago. Two million years later, Rano Kau came into being, and 250,000 years ago Maunga Terevaka between these, forming the current Easter Island. The English name of the island commemorates its European discovery by a Dutch exploration vessel on Easter Sunday in 1722.

After Thor Heyerdahl and a small party of adventurers sailed their raft from South America to the Tuamotu islands, far to the north of Easter Island, a controversy raged over the origin of the islanders. DNA testing has proved conclusively that the Polynesians arrived from the west rather than the east, and that the people of Easter Island are descendants of intrepid voyagers who set out from another island thousands of years ago. Legend says that the people left for Easter Island because their own island was slowly being swallowed by the sea.

In brief, the prehistory of Easter Island is one of supreme accomplishment, flourishing and civilization, followed by environmental devastation and decline. Although it is not agreed when people first arrived on Easter Island (with estimates ranging from 300 to 1200 CE), consensus seems to be that the first people were Austronesians arriving from Polynesia. Rather than being inhabited by mistake or chance, evidence has suggested that Easter Island was colonized deliberately by large boats with many settlers—a remarkable feat given the distance of Easter Island from any other land in the Pacific Ocean (4,231 km to Tahiti).

The first islanders found a land of undoubted paradise—archaeological evidence shows that the island was covered in trees of various sorts, including the largest palm tree species in the world, whose bark and wood furnished the natives with cloth, rope, and canoes. Birds were abundant as well, and provided food for them. A mild climate favored an easy life, and abundant waters yielded fish and oysters.

The islanders prospered due to these advantages, and a reflection of this is the religion which sprouted in their leisure, which had at its centerpiece the giant moai statues, that are the island's most distinctive feature today. These moai, which the island is littered with, are supposed to have been depictions of ancestors, whose presence likely was considered a blessing or watchful safekeeping eye over each small village. The ruins of Rano Raraku crater, the stone quarry where most of the moai were carved and outside which many still sit today, is a testament to how central these figures were to the islanders, and how their life revolved around these creations. It has been suggested that their isolation from all other peoples fueled this outlet of trade and creativity—lacking any other significant way to direct their skills and resources. The bird-man culture (seen in petroglyphs), is an obvious testament to the islanders' fascination with the ability to leave their island for distant lands.

However, as the population grew, so did pressures on the island's environment. Deforestation of the island's trees gradually increased, and as this main resource was depleted, the islanders would find it hard to continue making rope, canoes, and all the necessities to hunt and fish, and ultimately, support the culture that produced the giant stone figureheads. Apparently, disagreements began to break out (with some violence) as confidence in the old religion was lost, and this is reflected partly in the ruins of moai which were deliberately toppled by human hands. By the end of the glory of the Easter Island culture, the population had crashed in numbers, and the residents—with little food or other ways to obtain sustenance—resorted sometimes to cannibalism and a bare subsistence. Subsequent slave raids by countries such as Peru and Bolivia devastated the population even more, as did epidemics of western diseases, until barely a hundred native Rapa Nui were left by the late nineteenth century.

The island was annexed by Chile in 1888, though the inhabitants didn't receive full citizenship until 1966. Until those times the island was relatively isolated from mainland Chile and was leased to foreign companies for sheep farming. Regular flights to Santiago started in 1967 with the inauguration of the airport. Nevertheless the natives weren't too keen on becoming part of Chile, one of the reasons being that their traditional laws didn't allow for private property.

When democracy was re-established in Chile in 1986, the mainland authorities slowly started developing the island in the direction the natives wanted. In 2007 the Easter Island was given a special administrative status, together with the Juan Fernández Island.

Today, Rapa Nui National Park is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Its residents rely much on the tourism and economic links to Chile and daily flights to Santiago. As with many native peoples, the Rapa Nui seek a link to their past and ways to integrate their culture with the political, economic, and social realities of today.

Culture and traditions

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Together with the natural beauty and the mystical archaeological remains, the people and their rich culture and traditions is another reason for visiting the Easter Island.

Dance and music are important cultural expressions, just like elsewhere in Polynesia. Traditional dance performances are frequent around the island, but the 10 day Tapati festival taking place each February is definitely the highlight in the island's cultural life. The festival is about ancestral ceremonies such as bodypainting (takona), recitation of epic tales and legends (riu) and competition downhill descent on banana tree logs (haka pei). It culminates in the election of the queen of the island, which takes place on the full moon of that month. Tourists are more than welcome to partake in the celebrations, though you should book your accommodation well ahead if you want to visit during that time as they sell out quickly.

Climate

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Easter Island
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D 81 27 20 69 28 21 87 27 20 123 26 19 117 23 18 109 22 17 113 21 16 97 21 16 97 22 16 91 23 16 75 24 18 70 26 19 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation+Snow totals in mm
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D 3.2 80 68 2.7 82 69 3.4 80 68 4.8 78 67 4.6 74 64 4.3 71 62 4.5 70 61 3.8 70 60 3.8 71 60 3.6 73 61 3 75 64 2.7 78 66 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation+Snow totals in inches

The climate is humid subtropical, with the ocean keeping moderating the temperature differences between day and night and around the year. The average temperature around the year is 20.5°C, with the highest daily average of 23.7°C in February and lowest daily average in August at 18°C. Usually the temperature stays in the range 12–30°C (54–86°F), with the coldest temperature ever recorded being 3°C, and the hottest 36°C. The water temperature usually stays above 18°C.

Overall the rain is quite evenly distributed over the year, and humidity stays permanently above 80%. Another permanent thing are strong winds, usually coming in from northeast.

Flora

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With just 48 plant species, the Easter Island has a poor plant diversity. It's explained by its remote location, the facts the island never had a connection with the mainland, waves come in predominantly from the west where the nearest coasts are even further away, and that migratory birds have carried relatively few plant seeds. As such it's the settlers that have brought in new plants, deliberately and by accident. Local legend tell about Polynesian settlers bringing in seeds and plants to grow food for themselves and their livestock.

There are few endemic plant species. Fifteen types of fern grow here, four of which are endemic. Perhaps the signature plant is the hau hau (triumfetta semitriloba), a shrub in the tiliaceae family that according to studies grew here already about 35,000 years ago. Back in the day, fishermen used it to make nets.

The landscape is mostly grassland, with species of poaceae (grass), cyperaceae (sedges) and asteraceae (asters). Eucalyptus trees imported from Australia have been planted in an attempt to create eucalyptus forests. Several species of potatoes are grown for food. Sensitive plants can't really be grown here because of the windy climate, and farmers have taken some creative measures to protect their plants from the winds. One example include banana trees growing in calderas of extinct volcanoes.

Fauna

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The fauna too has been mostly influenced by the presence of humans on the island. Studies have shown that 25 land animal and 6 bird species lived here before human colonization. All of them are now extinct, and out of the original marine life just one species has survived.

Intentionally introduced species include horses, sheep, cows and pigs. Polynesian settlers brought with them Polynesian rats (Rattus exulans) for food, Europeans introduced the brown rat which was more successful and made the former extinct.

The one reptile species living here is the Ablepharus boutonii, named moco in the local language. It's a light brown skink, usually about 12 cm in length. There's also a sea snail species living just here and on the Sala y Gómez island, Cypraea englerti, named after German missionary Sebastian Englert who lived and worked on the island from 1935 until his death in 1969.

Geography

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The island is roughly triangular in shape, with sides of 16, 17 and 24 km long. Formed through volcanic activity, the three corners of the island are inactive volcanoes. In the north is Maunga Terevaka, the highest point of the island rising 511 m above sea level. The eastern corner is Puakatiki, 377 m ASL and the main volcano of the island. Finally, in southwest Rano Kau with a height of 324 m. Other important hills are Rano Aroi and Rano Raraku.

Overall the whole island is made up of hills and slopes and the coasts are steep and rocky. There are many tiny islets along the coast, except the coast in front of Hanga Roa and Anakena, where there are proper beaches. The vegetation comprises grassland and palm trees, the big forests that once covered the island have been gone for centuries.

The capital Hanga Roa is in the southwestern corner of the island and home to almost 90% of the its population. The rest of the inhabitants live in huts scattered around the island but much of it is practically uninhabited. Avenida Policarpo Toro, the main street of Hanga Roa is lined by shops, lodging, restaurants and the island's only pharmacy. Attractions include a museum about Easter Island and the town's Catholic church which is an important meeting place. There are several Internet cafés in town as well as an ATM.

Far west from the mainland, the time zone is two hours behind mainland Chile meaning UTC-6 in the winter and UTC-5 in the summer (daylight saving time) from September to April - the DST change takes place simultaneously with the mainland.

Visitor information

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• Easter Island Tourism Office