Easter Island...
Rapa Nui...
Isla de Pascua ...
The Trip of a Lifetime
from GALAPAGOS TRAVEL
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Easter Island... Rapa Nui... Isla de Pascua ... The Trip of a Lifetime
from GALAPAGOS TRAVEL |
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Easter Island • Isla de Pascua • Rapa Nui No matter what one may call the island, it’s sure to bring mysterious and surreal images to mind. Images of moai, the enormous stone heads/torsos that dot the landscape, oft recalled from childhood explorations through back issues of National Geographic magazines... Easter Island is a remote dot in the vast South Pacific - at just 7 by 15 miles, with the closest people over 1,000 miles distant, on even smaller Pitcairn Island - Chile and Tahiti are each over 2,000 miles distant, in opposite directions. Early history of the island is likely to always remain a mystery. The first colonization occurred around 300-400ad, most likely from Polynesia (based on the physical characteristics of the people, their culture, religion, and language). The population of the island thrived in the early years, reaching a peak of between 10,000-15,000 people. This was more than the small island could bear though. Eventually the ecosystem of the island was stretched to the point of complete deforestation, and a collapse of the society. Bloody civil war broke out between the different clans. The moai were toppled. Society was in ruins. The island’s population plummeted to near 3,000 in just a few years. The first European explorers to see the island (on Easter Sunday, 1722) report standing moai, and forests to be seen in the distant inland valleys. Captain Cook reported seeing neither just 52 years later when his ship called there. At the society’s peak they accomplished truly amazing things. The moai, and there are nearly 1,000 of them, were carved from the tuff lava of one volcano, Rano Raraku. The red scoria top-knots for the moai were carved from a different volcano. Both parts were then transported tremendous distances to numerous locations scattered around the island, then erected. The Rapa Nui had the only written language, Rongorongo Script, in all of Oceania. Numerous elaborate petroglyphs were carved into the rocks around the island. The island was ultimately “annexed” by Chile in 1888; Chile’s first, and only, attempt at colonization. This would prove to be another of the many trials the islanders have faced. Between slave raids and disease, the population on the island had dropped to 111 people by the start of the 20th century. Today the island has both a governor and a mayor. There is also a council of elders who have a fairly strong field of influence. This council has one representative from each Rapa Nui family - 39 in all. There are close to 4,000 people living on the island, with about 2,000 of them being Rapa Nui. The remainder are mostly Chilean. It is estimated that another 1,500 Rapa Nui live in other parts of the world - mostly Tahiti, North America, Europe, and Chile (where many Rapa Nui teens attend school). |
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About Our: About: Special Stuff: Special Trips: |
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To this day one sees relatively few animals. Seasonally seabirds, including frigates, nest on the surrounding motu (small islets). Some land birds are also in evidence. Snorkeling in the beautiful clear blue bays reveals few fish - the fishermen ply their trade several miles offshore where the currents produce a greater abundance. But, one comes to Rapa Nui for the moai, and the moai certainly do not disappoint. |
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Anakena Beach is one of two beautiful white sand beaches on the island. It’s an idyllic setting, with turquoise water, palm trees swaying in the breeze, and 6 of the best preserved moai standing guard. The Tahai archeological zone, with it’s restored open-air sanctuaries, is located on the western shoreline just outside of town. It is a beautiful place to contemplate the many mysteries of Rapa Nui as the sun sets over the water, behind a row of moai. These are also the only moai to have haunting reproductions of the original coral eyes. Ahu Akivi is the only inland site, on a breezy hillside surrounded by grassland, and the only site where the moai were positioned to face the sea. This is where noted archeologist William Mulloy first re-erected any of the moai. The largest ahu (ceremonial platform and burial chamber) on the island is Ahu Tongariki. This ahu once again supports its 15 standing moai. Back in 1960 this site took a direct hit from a tidal wave which washed the already fallen moai, some weighing as much as 30 tons, several hundred yards inland. These were re-erected in the 1990’s by a Japanese crane company. Numerous other ahus remain with the moai laying broken where they fell - a stark and moving memorial to the tragedies of the island’s past. Other highlights on the island include Rano Raraku quarry, where hundreds of moai may be seen in various states of completion - some hardly more than a carved outline in the mountain, and others completed and ready for transport to their final shrine. At Ahu Vinapu such finely fitted stonework remains that many people still point to this as proof of a connection to the Incas of South America. Orongo is an ancient ceremonial village set high on a crater rim, with the sea far below on one side, and a crater lake equally distant on the other. |
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We offer two ways to experience the wonders of the island; a Solar Eclipse Expedition in July 2010, or as a Private Expedition any time! |
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Solar Eclipse Expedition In July 2010 a total solar eclipse will sweep across the largely empty Southern Pacific, darkening the midday skies over the world’s most remote inhabited island; Easter Island. It’s hard to imagine a more surreal setting for one of nature’s most impressive spectacles, than standing among one of history’s greatest mysteries. Dates for this extraordinary expedition will depend on flights, but we anticipate a departure from the US the evening of July 5, and a return the morning of July 15. In mainland Chile highlights will include an in-depth tour of Santiago, including the city’s pre-Columbian museum, plus a full day touring the coastal villages of Viña del Mar and Valparaiso. Mainland Chile is however only a warm-up for the heart of the expedition - Easter Island! Our plan is to spend 7 days/6 nights on the island. Touring with a private local guide we will experience all of the major island sites, plus many of the smaller and seldom visited locations. Mid-trip we will take a break from our busy touring schedule to slow down and savor one of the most remarkable celestial spectacles possible - a total solar eclipse. With Easter Island’s location within the band of totality, the eclipse on July 11 should last nearly 5 minutes. Much of the spectacle of the eclipse of course is before and after the totality. In the final minutes before the eclipse becomes total many things will happen. Shadow bands may suddenly appear and shimmer over all ground objects. The sun’s atmosphere, called the corona, starts to become visible as a bright ring around the black lunar disk. The disappearing crescent shrinks to a brilliant gem on the edge of the brightening corona. This effect is called the “diamond ring.” Mountains along the lunar limb break up the last of the crescent into “Bailey’s beads.” The inner solar atmosphere, called the chromosphere, makes its reddish presence known – called the “flash spectrum.” Brighter stars and planets appear. Solar prominences, gigantic explosions along the sun’s limb, may be seen with the aid of binoculars. A total solar eclipse is a multifaceted experience, and the impression it leaves on the viewer is one of awe! |
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Solar Eclipse Itinerary Your tour begins and ends in Santiago, Chile. The real soul of the tour however will be 7 days on Rapa Nui, including 4.5 days of touring with your expert Rapa Nui guide. Visit all of the key sites at the best times to avoid crowds and enjoy the settings at their best. Your guide will share not just the history, but also the legends and lore of the island. Day 1 • Morning arrival in Santiago, Chile, from the U.S. - transfer to your city-center hotel upon arrival (our rooms will be ready for early arrival). Remainder of morning at leisure. Afternoon tour around Santiago, visiting the city's most outstanding attractions, including a walking tour downtown visiting the Plaza de Armas, the Cathedral, Ahumada Boulevard, and the Government Palace; "La Moneda." Then, by vehicle, visit the main avenues of old Santiago, crossing the bohemian neighborhood of Bellavista and drive to San Cristobal Hill, for a magnificent panoramic view of the city and the Andes Mountain Range. Next we visit the modern part of Santiago, including its elegant neighborhoods, shopping, and financial centers. The afternoon finishes with a stop at the artisan village of Los Graneros del Alba. Welcome dinner this evening. Overnight Santiago. Day 2 • This morning we will leave the city behind for a full day touring at the coast... Viña del Mar is one of South America’s most sophisticated summer resort towns. Viña is also known as the “garden city” for its beautiful gardens and avenues filled with flowering trees and palms. The seaside is a riot of activity between the casino, upscale shops, and numerous open air cafés and restaurants. Chile’s principal port, Valparaiso, retains an old European feel, with an urban landscape made up of picturesque narrow streets and giant ships moored at the wharves. This piece of coastline is one of the world’s more beautiful ports. Late afternoon return to Santiago. Evening free. Overnight Santiago. Day 3 • Transfer to the Santiago airport for the LAN Airlines flight to Easter Island. Flight days and times vary by season. Transfer to the Residencial Aloha Nui upon arrival. Following our planned midday arrival on the island we will begin our exploration of the island with an orientation tour this afternoon. Our expert local guide will select specific visitor sites for each day to maximize our viewing opportunities, and minimize our interaction with other groups. Day 4-7 • Four full days of private guided exploration into the magical sites and history of the island. Visit Tahai, Tongariki, Vinapu, Anakena, Orongo, Rano Raraku, Akivi and all the other major sites. You'll also see many off-the-beaten-path sites as well, including un-restored ahu, ceremonial plazas, stone chicken coops, secret gardens, house foundations, caves, petroglyphs, and so much more. On eclipse day, July 11, our afternoon will be devoted to viewing this celestial phenomenon from a special location. Day 8 • A free day... Today is the perfect opportunity to revisit a favorite site or explore new territory. Cars, jeeps, & bikes are available for rent in town depending on your interests and energy. Also, the only ways to visit the roughly one-third of the island's coastline without a road is either by hiking or renting horses (the horse trip, with a cowboy/guide is a great way to see it!). You can also stroll the streets of town, visit the artisan's market, go diving, take surf lessons, go to the museum, or just relax and take in being on Rapa Nui! Day 9 • Following a morning at leisure transfer to the airport for your return flight to Santiago. We anticipate arriving in Santiago in plenty of time to make international connections back to the US this evening. Accommodations in Santiago are at one of several 4-star centrally located hotels - our favorite being the Hotel Plaza San Francisco. Accommodations on Rapa Nui are at the small Residencial (B&B) Aloha Nui, owned by Maria Reina & Juan Edmunds. Your hosts could not be a warmer or more accommodating family. Originally Juan Edmunds' family home, it is where he and Maria Reina raised their family. Over the years it has been added on to a couple of times and the original house turned into the Residencial Aloha Nui with 6 guest rooms (all with private bath) plus a spacious sitting room overlooking the garden. The construction is simple cinder block walls, with a low roof-line, but the furnishings are very nice. Attached to the house by a breezeway is another building housing the palatial dining room, another sitting room, and the kitchen. Breakfasts are a leisurely and extravagant affair, with Maria Reina producing numerous plates of sumptuous treats. The entire complex is set amid a lush tropical garden surrounded by a low wall. One of the “first families” of Rapa Nui, Juan Edmund was mayor of the island for 3 terms in the 1970’s, and one of their sons (out of 10 children) was recently mayor. Their son Ramon, or his wife Josie (granddaughter of William Mulloy), will likely be your guide while on the island. Past guests at the Aloha Nui have included presidents and politicos from several countries, American rock stars, the Ecuadorian artist Guayasamin (two of whom’s pieces are personally inscribed to the hosts and hanging in the house), and the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. The Aloha Nui is located on the main street of Hanga Roa, about a 10 minute stroll from the center of the village. A bakery, restaurant, and small convenience store are all found within a minute's walk of the front gate. Tour Cost: Included in Tour Cost:
Not Included:
Group size & Accommodations: July is mid-winter in the southern hemisphere, and temperatures on Easter Island are anticipated to be cool (highs in the 70’s and lows in the 50’s). Rain, and clouds, are possible (statistics say it will rain for at least a bit 12 days during the average July). Our plan is to be flexible when it comes to selecting a viewing site for the eclipse, in the hopes of avoiding any possible cloud cover - however the island is small, and roads only cover a small percentage of it. Nonetheless, we’ll be working to get the most scenic and clearest viewing site possible! |
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Private Touring Year-Around! You don’t have to wait for an eclipse to experience the wonders of Easter Island If you have a week, we have an extraordinary expedition for you. A week off can be such a hard amount of time to use for vacation - you can “do” any number of places superficially, but where can you feel like you have really seen and done something extraordinary? Easter Island! Between the small size of the island, the expert local guides and private tours, and the ease of flights, this is the perfect holiday if you are pinched for time. A sample schedule could look something like this... A Saturday evening departure from the U.S. (Los Angeles, Miami or New York) on LAN Airlines puts you into Santiago early Sunday morning. Spend the rest of the day relaxing and enjoying the city (including an afternoon city tour). A Monday morning flight whisks you 2,000 miles across the Pacific, and to another world - Easter Island. Upon your mid-day arrival transfer to the Bed and Breakfast, and then set out of your first guided explorations of the island. Continue exploring with your private guide on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday - seeing and fully experiencing the wonders of Easter Island, the folklore, and her lost history. Friday is a free day - maybe you want to return to a favorite site, or take a horseback or boat tour, or just enjoy the wonder of being on this remote and amazing island. A Saturday mid-day flight gets you back to Santiago in plenty of time to connect with your international return flight to the U.S., arriving on Sunday morning. We offer these private tours (granted, without the eclipse) year-round, whether traveling alone, as a couple, or in a small group. Prices start at $1,400 per person, plus airfare. All travel dates are based on flights, and the program may be shortened or lengthened, on the island or mainland, to suit individual preferences. Another option would be to plan a visit to the island to coincide with the annual Tapati Festival (typically in early February). The festival was started in the 1970's as a way to keep the ancient traditions of the island alive. At this time it is a wonderful and quirky combination of uniquely Rapa Nui sporting events (everything from running and swimming, to sliding down a hill on banana tree trunks), fishing contests, handicraft competitions and exhibits, a beauty pageant, and a huge music and dance festival covering many days. Easter Island also makes a wonderful extension to a Galápagos workshop - either before of after, if you have the time. Accommodations on Rapa Nui are at the small Residencial (B&B) Aloha Nui, owned by Maria Reina & Juan Edmunds. Your hosts could not be a warmer or more accommodating family. Originally Juan Edmunds' family home, it is where he and Maria Reina raised their family. Over the years it has been added on to a couple of times and the original house turned into the Residencial Aloha Nui with 6 guest rooms (all with private bath) plus a spacious sitting room overlooking the garden. The construction is simple cinder block walls, with a low roof-line, but the furnishings are very nice. Attached to the house by a breezeway is another building housing the palatial dining room, another sitting room, and the kitchen. Breakfasts are a leisurely and extravagant affair, with Maria Reina producing numerous plates of sumptuous treats. The entire complex is set amid a lush tropical garden surrounded by a low wall. One of the “first families” of Rapa Nui, Juan Edmund was mayor of the island for 3 terms in the 1970’s, and one of their sons (out of 10 children) was recently mayor. Their son Ramon, or his wife Josie (granddaughter of William Mulloy, the famed American anthropologist known for his work in Polynesia an d Easter Island), will likely be your guide while on the island. Past guests at the Aloha Nui have included presidents and politicos from several countries, American rock stars, the Ecuadorian artist Guayasamin (two of whom’s pieces are personally inscribed to the hosts and hanging in the house), and the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. The Aloha Nui is located on the main street of Hanga Roa, about a 10 minute stroll from the center of the village. A bakery, restaurant, and small convenience store are all found within a minute's walk of the front gate. |
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Frequently Asked Questions... When should I go? Anytime! The climate on Rapa Nui is influenced by the ocean, so on the temperate side. Typical December-March daytime temperatures range from the upper 70’s to low 80’s; although humidity may be high, this is when the island sees the most visitors. Temperatures are cooler during the austral winter of June-September (average daytime temperatures are more typically in the 60's to low 70's). Rain showers are possible year-round. How do I get there? The island is only serviced by one airline: LAN (formerly LAN Chile). Flights are several times a week from either Santiago, Chile, or Tahiti. Flight time is roughly 5 hours from Santiago. What are Chile's arrival & departure logistics? Upon arrival in the Santiago airport all U.S. Passport holders are charged a reciprocity entrance fee of $100 (a one-time fee for the life of your passport). There are no visa requirements for U.S. Citizens. There is also no international departure tax. Is this a wildlife tour? Definitely not. Our focus is on the history and the culture. That's not to say that the hard-core birder can't rack up a number of new species though either. Over 6 days in January '07 we saw: Chimango Caracara, Common Diuca-Finch, Rock Dove, Great Frigate, Brown Noddy, Gray Noddy, Sooty Tern, Sooty Shearwater, House Sparrow, Chilean Tinamou, Herald Petrel, White-tailed Tropicbird, Grey-headed Bull, & Chilean Partridge. Is this a luxury or deluxe tour? No - that's not the direction we wanted to go. Again, we're here for the history and the culture. The Aloha Nui is a wonderful B&B, or Latin American style residencial. The family who run it are wonderful, and you will leave at the end of your trip feeling like you have been staying with family. You will come away with a true sense of the island and its people, and a bit of the magic of Rapa Nui. If it's luxury you're after, maybe the Explora Hotel is more to your liking - their new 5-day all-inclusive program stays well outside of town and starts at over $5,000 per person! Where should I eat when a meal is not included in the itinerary? There is a great range of options, from kiosks selling empanadas and sodas and beer, to cafes "downtown," to the seaside French Restaurant that bills itself as the best French Restaurant in the Pacific. Your choices are many, and your guide will be happy to make recommendations to suit your tastes or mood. What language is spoken on the island? The native language of the island is Rapa Nui, although Spanish is also very widely spoken. Most islanders working with tourists in some capacity will also speak at least some English. Whatever the language, everyone is universally friendly so you should have no problem communicating. All guiding is in English. What is there to do on the island if I have a "free day" in my itinerary? Lots - and the best part is, the island is so small it would be hard to get lost! You could easily rent a car or jeep for the day to either revisit a favorite site (or beach), or explore new territory - maybe drive out to Tongariki to watch the sun rise behind the moai! Bikes are also rented in town if you're looking for some exercise with your adventure. Also, the only ways to visit the roughly one-third of the island's coastline without a road is either by hiking or renting horses (the horse trip, with a cowboy/guide is a great way to see it!). You can also stroll the streets of town, visit the artisan's market, go diving, take surf lessons, go to the museum, or just relax and take in being on Rapa Nui! A 15 minute stroll from the Aloha Nui brings you to the best show on the island - the lavish tropical sunsets as seen through the moai at Tahai. What about money matters? There is no need to change currency before arriving in Chile - the U.S. Dollar is widely accepted - their local currency is the Chilean Peso. At present US$1 = 500+ Chilean Pesos. There are both exchange booths and ATM machines in the Santiago Airport. Major Credit Cards are commonly accepted in most parts of Chile (MasterCard is preferred, although VISA, American Express, & Diners are all used in some places). Traveler’s checks are easily exchanged in Santiago, but may be difficult to exchange outside the city. Rapa Nui boasts one ATM machine, although it is only networked with MasterCard or Cirrus. It is best to plan on bringing enough cash, and/or traveler’s checks with you to the island. Tipping is common practice in hotels and restaurants in Chile. A 10% tip is customary in restaurants and cafés, while a dollar or a few pesos is adequate to porters. There are no real guidelines for tipping on Rapa Nui, although we suggest roughly $10-12 per day. As always, all gratuities are discretionary. What else to you offer in Chile? We're really focused on Easter Island, and all that it has to offer. However, Chile, with its hundreds of miles of coastline, soaring mountains, deserts, lakes and glaciers, has much to offer as well. Working with a local tour company we have options from two to three days in either the Northern Deserts around San Pedro de Atacama, or the Southern Lakes Region around Puerto Montt. Are there any good books about the island? Longitude Books (our favorite book store for travel books on any destination) has put together a wonderful reading list for the island - you can check it out at... www.longitudebooks |
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About Our: Trips | Yachts | Itineraries | Departure Dates and Prices | Guidebook |
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GALAPAGOS TRAVEL Toll free from the US and Canada: 800-969-9014 |
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Photography by Mark Grantham |
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Except as noted, this page and all its contents are © 1995-2009 GALAPAGOS TRAVEL. |
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