Easter Island is fanatically beautiful views, mysterious statues, a unique natural landscape and much more. Indeed, many people who visited the island say that they seem to be in a cartoon. Everything here is full of colorful and lush landscapes, which sometimes just amazed. The island is located in the Pacific Ocean and has a triangular shape, on the perimeter of which are mysterious statues. It is located in the southern part of the ocean and belongs to Chile.
The island is located in the Pacific Ocean, in its eastern sector. The area of the island is 165.5 square meters. km, it can calmly cross the whole walk for several hours. There are several dozen craters of extinct volcanoes, and in the central part there is even a small desert with pinkish sand.
Throughout the year, winds blow on Easter Island – this is because the island has a small size, is located in the middle of the ocean, and the fact that there are practically no trees on the island, only grass and shrubs. It should also be noted that there are no lakes or rivers, and the accumulation of rainwater occurs in three small reservoirs formed by volcanic craters.
Currently, the island population is approximately 2500 inhabitants. These are representatives of three races: blacks, redskins and whites. There are three languages in use: English, Spanish and Rapanui. The leading activity of the islanders is cattle breeding, mainly sheep breeding, and fishing. Local inhabitants are very benevolent and affable, they like to drink strong alcoholic drinks, are abundantly tattooed, as a rule, of strong build and constantly smoke. And almost everyone here smokes: from women and 7-year-olds to the weak old. On Easter Island, there is only one city called Hanga Roa, built mainly for guests. It has an airport, hotels, transport infrastructure, telephone, television, Internet, supermarkets and more.
The island has got its name by chance. It is due to the fact that the Dutch sailors opened it in 1722 at the beginning of Easter week. Also, the island has a number of names: Rapa Nui – the Huge Paddle, Mata-Ki-Te-Rank – the Eye looking at Heaven and Te-Pito-o-Te-Henua – the Navel of the Universe.
The island was discovered by Dutch traveler Jacob Roggeven. In 1722, he sailed near Chile and discovered a small island. It happened in the spring of April 5, when the Catholic holiday Easter Sunday was celebrated. Since then, it has become so called – Easter Island. The island did not always belong to Chile, until 1888 it was under the supervision of Spain. It is the only city of Hanga Roa. According to 2012, the island’s population was about 5,000. The inhabitants of the island speak their native language, and also perfectly understand the Spanish language.
On the so-called tops of the island are long extinct volcanoes. The smallest, volcano Rano-Khao, and the largest, eminent Terevaka. Getting there is easy, just reach Pitcairn Island and book a tour. This is the shortest way to the island.
The most important secret of the island are Moai – stone idols. These huge sculptures in height reach from 1 to 25 m. The weight of these idols is from 10 to 100 tons. Perhaps, thanks to these statues, the island became widely known among tourists and became famous all over the planet. There are only two ways to get to Easter Island: by air and by sea. Every year this place is visited by about 30 thousand travelers. Mostly these people are very, very well-to-do, since tickets here can only be bought at very high prices. But it’s worth it to see this fantastic picture inherited from the distant past.
Even those who do not know about this island must have seen famous photographs of giants. They are called Moai and they are made of petrified volcanic ash. A total of 997 giant statues are located on the island. All of them are located on the edge and their faces are directed towards the island. Not all statues stand to their full height, some of them lie face down on the ground. To preserve the heritage, part of Moai was renovated and placed on a special site.
If you look at the statues from afar, it seems as if the figures were rooted in the ground. Also on the island there are not fully finished “giants”, apparently mysterious masters faced some kind of barrier. When trying to move one of these idols, it turned out that only a small upper part of it is on the surface, and the bulk goes deep into the ground.
For locals, these statues are a symbol and a unique cultural heritage. For the damage done to Moai, you can go to jail and pay a huge fine.
