Experience the best of Hanga Roa

Hanga Roa stretches along the west coast of Easter Island, called Rapa Nui by its people, some 3,500 km west of the Chilean coast. Nearly all the island's residents live here, in low houses among gardens, around a small fishing harbour and a church. A short walk north, the moai of Tahai stand on a platform beside the sea, facing inland, and the sun sets behind them.

The rest of Rapa Nui National Park, a World Heritage Site, lies within a short drive. Fifteen restored moai line up at Ahu Tongariki on the east coast, the quarry slopes of Rano Raraku still hold hundreds of unfinished figures, and Anakena has white sand, palm trees and more statues. At Orongo, ruined stone houses sit on the rim of the Rano Kau crater, where the birdman cult once held its yearly contest.

Tuna, ceviche and empanadas fill the town's restaurants, and the traditional earth oven, the umu, cooks fish, sweet potato and chicken under hot stones. The climate is mild all year, with warm summers and cool, damp winters. Each February the Tapati festival brings dance, canoe races and body painting to the island.