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Located deep in the South Pacific some 3,700km to the west of Chile, Easter Island - or Rapa Nui, by its Polynesian name - is one of the most isolated places in the world, but this tiny island is simply teeming with outstanding nature, surprising secrets, and a remarkable history that makes it oh so worth a visit.
Holidays to Chile and Easter Island start from £5,499 per person, Get in touch to find out prices for your perfect trip.
And here at Latin Routes, we can help you build a visit to this incredible island into your perfect South American holiday. Truly individual, designed-around-you, tailor-made itineraries are what we do, so just let us know the things that are most important to you and we will design your perfect holiday to this magical part of the world, taking care of every single little detail so there is nothing left for you to think about but enjoying the trip of your lifetime.
Ready to start planning your perfect Chile holiday? Simply complete our enquiry form to get in touch, or call our Travel Specialists directly on 0800 069 6770.
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Easter Island is one of the most remote places in the world, which has probably contributed to the fascination with its origins and history. After all, given its location in the middle of the South Pacific, it is incredible to think that this island was first discovered by Polynesian people who arrived on humble wooden canoes!
It is believed that these settlers first arrived in an organised party of immigrants around 300-400 A.D. According to oral tradition, the first king of Easter Island was Hoto-Matua, a ruler from a Polynesian subgroup – the Marquesa Islands. It is also thought that his ship travelled thousands of miles before landing at Anakena, the famous sandy beach on the island’s rocky coast.
But the mysterious arrival of these Polynesians is only the beginning of the story that makes Easter Island so fascinating.
The Rapa Nui people were not only incredibly skilled at sea but also evidentially incredibly talented, and intelligent, in other ways which is evidenced in their having created some of the most well-known statues in the world - the Moai stone statues. Spread all over the island and believed to be numbering nearly 900 in total, it is thought that these statues were built in order to protect and look over the clans that had built them. But meaning aside, if a giant stone statue between 4 and 13 meters tall is complex to build today, we can only imagine how they might have built 900 of them almost 1,000 years ago!
These enormous and famous stone statues were carved out of tuff (the light, porous rock formed by consolidated volcanic ash), and placed on top of ceremonial stone platforms called ahus. The reasons for these statues being constructed in such high numbers, and how they were moved around the island, are still unknown. Nonetheless, in our opinion that is something that adds to the charm and mystery of this tiny corner of the world.
The island's modern name of Easter Island, or Isla de Pascua, came about in 1722, when the Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen discovered the island whilst sailing the South Pacific. It so happened that his discovery was made on Easter Sunday in the Christian calendar, and so the name of this beautiful and historically fascinating dot in the ocean thus became what we still call it today - Easter Island.
Ready to start planning your perfect Chile holiday? Simply complete our enquiry form to get in touch, or call our Travel Specialists directly on 020 546 6222.
On this 16-day trip, you will immerse yourself in the enigma and mysteries of Easter Island, where you will come face to face with the Moai statues, and the enriching history of the Rapa Nui people who call the island their home.
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