The enigmatic Easter Island or “Rapa Nui” is the most remote, inhabited island in the world. Many layers of history and mystery shroud its ancient lands. This Chilean Island is on the southeast corner of the Polynesian triangle (with Hawaii and New Zealand), located about 2,000 miles west of Chile. It’s home to Rapa Nui National Park and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I enjoyed a day here on a stopover across the Pacific Ocean. So, read on to learn about Easter Island highlights in a day.
Moai Statues and Deforestation Background
One of the most unique aspects of this island are the 887 Moai statues, carved by the Rapa Nui people. These stone giants, created 1250 – 1500, are carved from tuff. (compressed volcanic ash) They stand at 13 feet tall and average 12.5 tons. The Moai’s large heads are 3/5 the size of bodies). With heavy brows, large broad noses, strong chins, the bodies squat and stand on stone platforms called “Ahu.” Almost half were transported to the island’s perimeter facing inwards. This symbolizes the living heads of ancestors protecting its clans. The other half remain at the quarry, Rano Raraku.
Two other unique aspects of this island are its deforestation and 3 extinct volcanoes. Most of the native trees disappeared hundreds of years for reasons completely unknown. Many speculate that they were cut down to roll the multi-ton Moai statues from the quarry to their stone platforms. An esoteric theory is that extraterrestrials placed the Moai, attracting many cults of Moai worship. In 1722 most the statues toppled by the island’s civil wars. Also, a tsunami in 1960 toppled the rest. However, in the 1990’s a Chilean archeologist restored the Moai.
Anakena Beach
We tender ashore from our ship onto Anakena Beach. This white coral sandy beach is refreshing to see on the predominantly rocky coast of Rapa Nui. It’s an intimate, little cove with a small coconut tree grove and an Ahu (platform), where 7 Moai statues stand guard on the hilltop. The coconut trees appear random, as though they don’t quite belong on this otherwise treeless island. The Moai, however, conspicuously stand erect with purpose, overlooking their domain. Immediately, I feel awestruck by their commanding presence, and the epiphany that I am indeed standing on Easter Island.
I meander to the Moai, taking in the vibes of their mysterious atmosphere...
Also, I notice horses gathering along the basalt, black rocky shoreline, beside the small beach. No other trees were in sight, but barren is not the feeling that I get as expected. Instead, the landscape exudes a fertile vacancy, creating space for prolific creations. The extinct volcano, majestically rising before me, feels very much alive with creative vitality.
The volcanoes and landscape are serenely enswathed in green, velvet-like grass, complemented by jet-black pumice and basalt rock. In contrast with the marbled blue and white sky, the view is stunning. I feel awakened by a natural clarity, unscathed by modern pollution. The simple realization that I’m on the most remote, inhabited island on our planet, ignites feelings of a mystical adventure.
When intimately approaching the Moai, I sense their animation with eons of wisdom, forgotten in modern times. Just being in their presence is life changing. It feels like I’m setting eyes on a universal symbol to help me remember ancient, esoteric truths.
Let expectations go at Easter Island…
I laugh to myself at any previous expectations about Rapa Nui. Its magnetic field interlaces with my own, dissolving my ego into the ocean spray, pounding upon its basalt sea cliffs. Furthermore, this isn’t the new-age image printed on a postcard or exploited by tourism. These postcards disappear into the reality incinerator, leaving an empty canvas from which to create a unique experience.
Horseback is the main source of transportation on Rapa Nui. I relish that this pristine place is untainted by petrol and people.
It’s interesting to consider what the car does to civilization. Obviously, there’s the pollution and traffic that congests the senses and amplifies anxieties. In addition, there is a tempo that sets the template for your essence of being. With cars come speed, bringing an increased sense of urgency in all that we do.
Riding horses as your main source of transportation genuinely connects a person to the land and your organic vehicle. Senses and instincts sharpen to the resonance of nature, grounding your mind to its essence. Who are we really? Does our being really come through authentically, when we are rushed into conforming to synthetically paced societies? It’s enlightening to imagine what spending an extended period of time in this remote setting, with minimal automobiles and abundant equestrian opportunities, would do for your psyche.
Reminding myself, I am on one of the most mysterious and remote islands in the world, with only 7 hours to explore it. There is the mental temptation to rush and experience all you can. However, I surrender all the anxious feelings from that sense of urgency into the Polynesian winds. I slow down like the wild horses grazing on the greens and just let the wind blow my hair and feel the natural freedom.
After walking on my own for a couple hours along the majestic shoreline, I find deep within my dormant self, a resonance with Rapa Nui. Gradually, my gait begins to match the pace of the land’s heartbeat. After 2 hours of wonderful solitude here, I hesitantly head back to the meeting spot for the tour bus to see the landmark sites of Rapa Nui National Park.
Rapa Nui National Park
An Easter Island Highlights Tour
I am not thrilled with the lame idea of seeing the sacred Rapa Nui National Park with a tour group. However, I only have 7 hours until before our ship leaves. First, we drive to the Ahu Tongariki (largest) with 15 Moai lined up alongside each other, including the largest 86-ton Moai. They align to face sunset on summer solstice.
Also, their enigmatic faces stare through you with a penetrating power, as though to say we protect whatever we see. I feel struck by the intense level of seriousness that their faces exude. The minimalist style, typical of Polynesian art, penetrates with pronounced facial traits: the large, deep-slit eyes, with protruding brow line, chiseled jaw, broad nose and rectangle-shaped ears.
The emerald-green grass and marbled blue-nimbus sky are a nice complement, lightening up the heavy gravity from the serious Moai statues. I pinch myself to remind, that we are witnessing the mysterious Easter Island statues. Intrigued, I also feel skeptical, wondering how much of this site is genuine, knowing the turmoil affecting these statues over the years from wars and tsunamis. Regardless, it is an awesome site and an amazing restoration for visitors.
Main Quarry at Rano Raraku, Easter Island
Our second stop is at the main quarry, Rano Raraku, where half of the Moai on the island still reside. Rano Raraku is a volcanic crater on the lower slope of the extinct volcano, Terevaka. At this quarry, they excavated the stone and carved most of the Moai from tuff (compressed volcanic ash), before moving them to the island perimeters. It’s an intriguing walk, alongside slopes of the extinct volcano, with the Moai mostly buried, with just their heads emerging from the ground. Furthermore, at the quarry most of the Moai are still incomplete.
All appear to be stillborn midair, as though freezing in the birthing process, incomplete, yet creatively revealing the artistic journey. It’s a pleasant walk, alongside the grassy-green slopes, with random protrusions of the large Moai heads. The setting is a nice balance of nature, geology and archeology. It is difficult to leave, as I could easily stay here all day and just wander and explore.
Largest Town on Easter Island – Hanga Roa
Next, on the way to our last Moai site, we drive through the capital town, Hanga Roa, with 87% of the island’s population (almost 3000 people). It appears quite lively, and I imagine that it would be rather iconic to gather with others and socialize in this unique culture. Our last stop is at an Ahu, that I haven’t been able to identify. But it’s fantastic to see the 5 Moai lined up along the shoreline. This sacred site emanates an uplifting vitality, showcasing the rock art, adjacent to the roaring seas, surging against the jet-black, basalt rock upon the coast. It’s an exquisite harmony to see the Moai art excavated from the natural surrounding landscape, creating a type of poetic rhyme to the overall setting.
Because the island is remote, the Rapa Nui people created a culture and archeological treasure trove, untainted by outside influences. The cultural artifacts are an organic extension of the land. However, the unnatural wake is the treeless terrain. Interestingly, this doesn’t give me a vacuous feeling: the simple open expanse welcomes the ocean winds to sweep away all impurities… And the 3 extinct volcanoes seem very much alive, symbolizing wisdom and serenity, after surviving eons on Mother Earth, with their remains as compost to fertilize posterity.
Overall…
Finally, I recommend this island for those that “want to get away from it all.” After all, Rapa Nui is the most remote, inhabited island in the world, with horseback as the main source of transportation. Need I say more? If fortunate to return, however, I would stay for an extended period of time and explore this exotic island on my own feet and a horse’s hooves, peripatetically, on the humble ground.
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