Easter Island
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Why Easter Island?
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Brochures can be ordered in print or downloaded in digital format.
Discover the destination
See the cruises in the Pacific Islands

Brochures can be ordered in print or downloaded in digital format.
Discover the destination
It is the dream of exploration for many passionate travellers. Easter Island arouses curiosity and fascinates visitors. Nearly 900 moai, these giant and iconic statues, populate the island known as Rapa Nui. These extraordinary sights invite contemplation and an opportunity to better understand this distant culture.
Seven silent guardians scan the horizon. Ahu Akivi is unique on Easter Island – it's the only site where the moai face the ocean, despite being located inland. Standing side by side, each statue rises about four metres tall and weighs around 12 tonnes. These imposing figures are believed to represent revered ancestors or powerful chiefs, placed to offer protection and prosperity to the island’s people.
Hanga Roa is the capital of Easter Island. As the only urban centre of Rapa Nui, located in the south of its western part, this village is home to the majority of the island's population, around 7,000 inhabitants. It is pleasant to stroll along the small fishing port of Hanga Roa Otai or to visit the Santa Cruz church, the only Catholic building on the island. Founded in 1937, it is adorned with beautiful wooden sculptures. Nearby, the artisan market is the perfect place to find a typical souvenir made by one of the island's artisans. In the middle of the city, facing the ocean, Vare Vare Park offers a green space ideal for relaxation.
During a stopover in Hanga Roa, it is impossible to miss one of the most impressive archaeological sites on Easter Island: Ahu Tahai. Indeed, there are three ahu, these ceremonial platforms made from the volcanic stones of the island. Ahu Ko Te Riku is remarkable for its statue with white stone eyes. Ahu Vai Ure stands out with five aligned moai, turning their backs to the shore. The solitary moai Ahu Tahai rises to a height of 4.5 metres. A must-see stop to combine historical discovery and an exceptional landscape!
You have to picture the setting to really grasp the aura it radiates. On one side, the slopes of the Rano Kau volcano; on the other, a sheer cliff plunging into the Pacific Ocean. Between the two lies the ceremonial village of Orongo. Perched at the southern tip of Easter Island, the 53 stone dwellings that make up this hamlet bear witness to the time when the Rapa Nui clan leaders gathered here to elect their spiritual chief.
It is in the east of Rapa Nui that one must go to admire the largest ceremonial platform on the island: Ahu Tongariki. There are 15 moai placed side by side, including the heaviest on Easter Island, which weighs no less than 86 tons. Partially destroyed during a tsunami in 1960, the ahu was rebuilt identically in 1990. With its 15 giants, it is one of the iconic sites for which travellers often come from the ends of the earth. Nearby is the extinct volcano of Rano Raraku. The place represents an exceptional and legendary natural landscape. Not only does its crater, protected by 200-metre-high walls, house a natural reservoir, but it also served as a quarry for the construction of the moai. It is estimated that 95% of them were sculpted here. One can admire 394 of them, at different stages of production.
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What do we really know about Easter Island? It is all the mysteries surrounding the moai and the history of a people said to be extinct that attract visitors from all over the world every year. Here are some fragments of answers.
Fast facts
The Sebastian Englert Museum in Hanga Roa houses one of the 12 female moai found on Easter Island. Discovered in 1956 by Thor Heyerdahl, the torso was displayed alone in Oslo until the head was found in 1988. The body was then reunited with its original land, allowing the statue to be complete.
Essential vocabulary
Although Rapanui is still spoken a little, Spanish is the most widespread language on Easter Island. Hello / Good evening: Buenos días / Buenas noches Goodbye: Hasta luego Welcome: Bienvenido Thank you: Gracias Yes / no: Sí / No How are you?: ¿Cómo estás? Very well, thank you, and you?: Bien, muchas gracias, ¿y tú? My name is...: Me llamo...
Gastronomy
Simple ceviche and fresh fish are the main components of the local cuisine. Most fruits and vegetables are imported. However, the small pineapples, delicious and very sweet, found on Easter Island are succulent.
Myths and legends
For some historians, the first inhabitants of Easter Island came from Indonesia. But according to legend, the first man to land there was the Polynesian king Hotu Matua. Banished from the Marquesas Islands, he is said to have arrived on Rapa Nui in 500 BCE, after sending his seven sons as scouts. These sons are said to be represented by the seven moai facing the ocean, found at the Ahu Akivi site.
In the spotlight
Since its discovery in 1864 on Easter Island by the missionary Eugène Eyraud, the rongorongo script has never been deciphered. However, it is known that these wooden tablets are read from left to right, starting from the bottom. Some symbols recall traditional refrains from Polynesian genealogical hymns. A lunar calendar has also been deciphered.
Culture
Books Thor Hyerdahl was a Norwegian explorer famous for crossing the Pacific between Peru and the Tuamotus in 1947 on board a perilous dinghy. His book 'Aku-Aku –The Secret of Easter Island' is an adventure classic. This autobiographical narrative traces the stages of the first archaeological expedition conducted on the island in 1955. More than a chronicle of a scientific mission, the text tells of the concern the last Pascuans felt about the Europeans and how they wanted to keep their culture secret: a culture that had flourished for centuries without any other influence. Music. Most Rapa Nui dances are Polynesian in origin, like the sau-sau from Samoa and the ula-ula and tamuré from Tahiti. The first two are characterised by wave-like hip and arm movements, while the third is mainly danced by men who perform spectacular acrobatics reminiscent of war dances. Film. Too often, it is assumed that the people behind the moai have died out. However, those who believe this don't know Rapa Nui's contemporary history. The documentary 'The Hidden Story of Easter Island '(France Ô and Virginie Adoutte, 2014) shows how the 400 Rapa Nui people were confined behind barbed wire after the arrival of the Chileans in 1888, penning them in the equivalent of six percent of the territory. The rest was allocated to intensive sheep farming and operated by a private company. For some of them, the only way out was to flee on pirogue canoes to try and reach Tahiti over 4,000 kilometres away. Their story is told here for the first time.
Key figures – 3,700
Easter Island is the most remote inhabited island on the planet. It is located 3,700 kilometres off the coast of mainland Chile.