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Essential Further Reading

Chile And Easter Island
by Steve Davey
Price: £10.49 (30% off list price)
This guide offers up-to-date travel advice and background information about the history and culture of Chile, and the world's most remote island - Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui.
Buy the book Chile And Easter Island securely online with 30% off via amazon.co.uk by clicking here

At one time however, Easter Island was partly covered by palm forest and was home to a thriving civilisation of up to 15,000 people that continues to intrigue and fascinate visitors to the island thanks to the mysterious giant carved statues that they left behind. The Moai, as the statues are called, are thought to have been carved between 1600 and 1730, but their exact purpose has been lost in the passing of time.

Today there are more than 600 large monolithic stone statues on the island and the quarry most of them came from is still home to the half-carved statues left in the rock.

Now a World Heritage Centre, Easter Island - or Rapa Nui to give it its Polynesian name - is like a giant open air museum without any ropes or barriers to prevent you getting close to the giant Moai that on average stand 13 feet in height and weigh 14 tons, but can be as tall as El Gigante which remains in the Rano Raraku Quarry but is over 71 feet in length and weighs around 150 tons. Better still, no charge is made to view any of the Moai.

Reaching Easter Island has become much easier since the opening of the airport at Mataveri and the Chilean national airline, Lanchile, has regular flights to the island from both Santiago and Tahiti. It’s also possible to include Easter Island on some round the world flight tickets.

Most of the accommodation on Easter Island is in the form of guest houses and many of the owners come to the airport to greet new arrivals who may wish to stay with them. The island itself is very small and a taxi or one of the few hire cars will get you around the major sites in a few hours. Credit cards are rarely accepted and there is only one cash machine on the island so make sure you take either Chilean pesos or American dollars in cash when you visit. Similarly, bars and restaurants are limited in number.

The hottest month is February with the coolest months being July and August. March to June are the rainiest months while August to December are the driest, although heavy rains are possible at any time of year. But whenever you choose to go, the mysteries that surround the giant Moai statues of Easter Island will remain with you forever.



More on Easter Island and other South Pacific islands can be found at www.southseas.co.uk.