City guide · Hanga Roa · Rapa Nui
Hanga Roa
The town at the end of the world, where the story of the moai begins in the island's only settlement
Hanga Roa is the only town on Easter Island (Rapa Nui), at the island's southwest corner, where the great majority of the island's roughly seven thousand residents live. Low houses are scattered along the main street, small boats ride in the fishing harbour, and the hymns at the Catholic church's services are sung in the Rapa Nui language. It is both the gateway in and out of the island and the starting point for understanding the moai civilisation: the anthropology museum, the restored ceremonial platforms and the weekly market are all in this walkable little town. The whole-town Mass every Sunday and the market on Saturday mornings are the islanders' most important social occasions.
History
How the city came to be
The Rapa Nui people arrived by voyaging from other Polynesian islands around AD 1200 or so (the precise chronology is still debated by scholars) and built a society centred on ahu (ceremonial platforms) and moai statues; the bay of Hanga Roa was an important settlement from ancient times. On Easter Day 1722 the Dutch navigator Roggeveen landed here, and the island took the name "Easter Island" from it. In 1862–1863 Peruvian slave raiders carried off islanders, and the smallpox that followed drove the population down at one point to little more than a hundred people; the priestly class that could read the rongorongo tablets vanished with them. In 1888 Chile annexed the island, and for a long time afterwards the island was leased to a sheep-farming company, with the Rapa Nui confined to living around Hanga Roa. The national park was established in 1935; after the airport opened in the 1960s, links with the outside world grew closer, and in 1995 Rapa Nui National Park was inscribed on the World Heritage list.
- c. 1200Polynesian voyagers settle Easter Island (the date is disputed)
- 1722Roggeveen lands on Easter Day
- 1770A Spanish expedition surveys the whole island
- 1862Peruvian slave ships raid the islanders; the population falls sharply
- 1888Chile formally annexes Easter Island
- 1935Rapa Nui National Park established
- 1967Mataveri Airport opens to civil aviation routes
- 1995Rapa Nui National Park inscribed on the World Heritage list
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Local life
Food and local daily life
Easter Island
Must-try
- Tuna ceviche
- Tuna empanadas
- Umu earth-oven feast
Tuna ceviche, tuna empanadas, umu earth-oven feast (group booking), island sweet potatoes / pineapples, seafood soup
| Where to eat | Restaurants and budget fast-food places on Hanga Roa's main street; bring your own lunch to distant sights such as Ahu Tongariki |
|---|---|
| Dining etiquette | No eating, drinking or climbing in the restricted areas around the moai platforms |
| Typical price per person | CLP 18,000–30,000 ≈ CNY 133–222 |
| Tips | Bring all your own water and food for sights outside town. |
Prices are typical rates as of October 2026, not exact quotes; CNY equivalents are approximate where exchange rates fluctuate.
Victorika · CC BY-SA 3.0
Ahu Tongariki, Easter Island · Tuna ceviche · Tuna empanadas · Umu earth-oven feast
Must-try
- Tuna ceviche
- Tuna empanadas
- Umu earth-oven feast
Tuna ceviche (from island tuna), tuna empanadas, umu tahu (traditional earth-oven feast, group booking required), island produce such as pineapple and sweet potato, Chilean seafood stew paila marina
| Where to eat | Restaurants on the main street of Hanga Roa (the sights are in the east of the island with no food — bring water and food), budget places such as Club Sandwich in town |
|---|---|
| Dining etiquette | Rapa Nui sacred sites: don't touch or climb the ahu platforms; the umu feast is a ritual meal — respect your hosts' arrangements |
| Typical price per person | CLP 18,000–30,000 ≈ CNY 133–222 |
| Tips | Supplies come by sea, so prices are high; guesthouse breakfast plus one main meal in town is enough; if hiring a car for the sights, bring your own lunch. |
Prices are typical rates as of October 2026, not exact quotes; CNY equivalents are approximate where exchange rates fluctuate.
Victorika · CC BY-SA 3.0
Before you go
Rules to know in Hanga Roa
Chile: no drinking in public places
Do
- Drink in restaurants and bars
Don’t
- Drinking in streets, squares, seafront promenades and other public places
It is illegal.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: GOV.UK: Chile travel advice
Chile: no open fires in national parks
Do
- Use fire only at permitted campsites
Don’t
- Lighting an open fire outside designated campsites in a national park
You can have your tourist permit cancelled, be ordered to leave within 72 hours or be deported; starting a forest fire can also bring criminal charges.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: GOV.UK: Chile travel advice