WhereIsAtlas · Easter Island

Where Is Easter Island?

The remote Pacific island of the moai statues — one of the most isolated inhabited places on Earth.

Easter Island, or Rapa Nui, is a remote island in the southeastern Pacific, about 3,500 km west of Chile. Famed for its giant moai statues, it is culturally part of Polynesia and one of the most isolated inhabited places on Earth.

The most isolated island

Easter Island, known locally as Rapa Nui, sits in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, about 3,512 kilometers west of continental Chile and roughly 2,075 kilometers east of Pitcairn Island. It is one of the most isolated inhabited places on Earth.

Polynesian, not South American

Despite being closer to Chile than to larger Pacific islands, Easter Island is culturally a part of Polynesia. It is a special territory of Chile, but its people, language and traditions are Polynesian — reflecting its settlement by Polynesian navigators around 1200 AD.

The moai

The island is famous for its moai — the enormous stone statues carved by the Rapa Nui people. Standing up to around ten meters tall and weighing many tons, these statues were quarried and erected centuries ago, and their purpose and the logistics of their creation remain the subject of enduring study and debate.

A symbol of mystery

Easter Island is one of the most intriguing archaeological and cultural sites in the world. Its isolation, its statues, and the story of the Rapa Nui civilization have fascinated travelers and researchers for generations.

Where Easter Island is now

Easter Island is still there — a small, remote island with an outsized place in the world's imagination. It is a territory of Chile, a Polynesian island, and home to the moai that made it legendary. For a 'where is it' answer, it lies in the middle of the southeastern Pacific; for a 'what is it' answer, it is one of the most remarkable and mysterious places on Earth.

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