Top 10 things to see and do in Easter Island

This Chile-governed island, 2,200 miles from mainland South America is arguably the most remote inhabited place in the world and its fascinating history and culture reflects its isolated nature. Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui, is accessible via a few flights a week from Santiago, Chile and one from Papeete, Tahiti.

The island is most famous for its collection of moai – massive, stone, humanoid megaliths – and around 1000 can be found dotted about the lands and along the coast. The statues were built to represent tribal chiefs or prominent figures when they died. They each have unique features, designed to mimic the appearance of their living counterpart and they sit upon an ‘Ahu’ which is the tomb.

It is thought that eventually the Rapa Nui people moved on from a culture of deified ancestors and looked to a new spiritual direction – a belief in a singular creator god, Make Make. With few reptiles and mammals on such a remote…