South America Vacations

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Easter Island Luxury Vacations, Easter Island Tours, Easter Island Tailored Vacations Guide


Easter Island is an exotic vacation destination that has been, until lately very difficult to visit. The profile of the mystical stone statues, (moai)  demonstrate some ancient knowledge that has kept man wondering for centuries.

Easter Island is one of the planet's most isolated islands, a tiny spot in the vast pacific created by volcanos. The Easter Island natives call their island Rapa Nui or Te Pito o Te Henua, 'the navel of the earth.'

The first humans on Easter Island arrived from the west, probably from the Marquesas islands or Mangareva, as part of a greater migratory procession which spread Polynesian culture throughout the South Pacific. Then twelve centuries past before the arrival of the first intrepid 'settlers' near 500 AD and then the Dutch Admiral, Jacob Roggeveen discovered the island in 1722 and has remained one of the world's most curious mysteries.

Sailors visiting from Europe discovered that the natives could not explain the construction and transport of the great moai megaliths, the largest of which exceeds sixty feet in height. Nor could they decipher the rongo rongo tablets whose hieroglyphic script appears to be a forgotten form of written language. Somewhere in the past - a past which seems to have seesawed from ancestor worship, monument building and population growth, to deforestation and food shortages, feuding and in some cases even cannibalism - the old knowledge had been lost. It is the mystery of these disappeared artisans, and the awesome presence of their works, which continues to draw scientists and seekers from across the globe.

Today, Rapa Nui National Park protects most of the island's archaeological sites, and the native todomiro forests that once graced the island are being replanted. Easter Island is perfect for the active vacationer, opportunities for mountain biking, hiking and walking abound on the island, while a vibrant marine ecosystem of corals and colorful tropical fish makes Easter Island a prime destination for scuba divers and snorkelers.