Hanga Roa
Encyclopedia
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an province of Easter Island
Easter Island
Easter Island is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian triangle. A special territory of Chile that was annexed in 1888, Easter Island is famous for its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early Rapanui people...
. It is located in the southern part of the island's west coast, in the lowlands between the extinct volcanoes of Terevaka
Terevaka
Ma′unga Terevaka is the largest, tallest and youngest of three main extinct volcanoes that form Rapa Nui...
and Rano Kau
Rano Kau
Rano Kau is a tall extinct volcano that forms the southwestern headland of Easter Island, a Chilean island in the Pacific Ocean. It was formed of basaltic lava flows in the Pleistocene with its youngest rocks dated at between 150,000 and 210,000 years ago.- The crater :Rano Kau has a crater...
.
The population of 3,304 (2002 census) comprises 87 percent of the total population of the island. For much of the twentieth century, the rest of the island was leased to the Williamson-Balfour Company
Williamson-Balfour Company
The Williamson-Balfour Company was a Scottish owned Chilean company. Its successor company, Williamson Balfour Motors S.A., is a subsidiary of the British company Inchcape plc....
and closed to the Rapanui
Rapanui
The Rapa Nui or Rapanui are the native Polynesian inhabitants of Easter Island, or Rapa Nui, in the Pacific Ocean. The easternmost Polynesian culture, the Rapa Nui people make up 60% of Easter Island's population, with some living also in mainland Chile...
; in 1914, the population of Hanga Roa was just 250 and the rest of the island was inhabited by large populations of sheep.
The island's main avenue, Avenida Atamu Tekena (formerly Avenida Policarpo Toro), is the heart of the town. Many stores, hotels, restaurants, and the island's only supermarket and pharmacy are found alongside this road. In 1998, the road was renamed after nineteenth century Rapanui hero Atamu Te Kena; it had previously been named after Captain Policarpo Toro
Policarpo Toro
Policarpo Toro Hurtado was a Chilean naval officer, . He enrolled in the Chilean Navy in 1871 and visited Easter Island in 1875. From 1877 to 1879 he participated in the English Navy as second lieutenant...
, the Chilean Naval officer who annexed Easter Island to Chile in 1888. The island's museum and also the Roman Catholic church, are located in the center of town. With the advent of the internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
and the expansion of communication services by the Chilean government, many internet cafes and even several automated teller machine
Automated teller machine
An automated teller machine or automatic teller machine, also known as a Cashpoint , cash machine or sometimes a hole in the wall in British English, is a computerised telecommunications device that provides the clients of a financial institution with access to financial transactions in a public...
s (ATM) have appeared in recent years.
Hanga Roa has a multi-use stadium, Estadio de Hanga Roa
Estadio de Hanga Roa
Estadio de Hanga Roa is a football stadium in Hanga Roa, Easter Island. It is the home ground of the Seleccion Rapa Nui, the Easter Island national football team. The stadium holds about 2,500 people....
, which is the home ground of the Easter Island national football team.
The town has a number of hotels and guesthouses which cater for tourists who come to see the island's World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
s, and in particular the famous moai
Moai
Moai , or mo‘ai, are monolithic human figures carved from rock on the Chilean Polynesian island of Easter Island between the years 1250 and 1500. Nearly half are still at Rano Raraku, the main moai quarry, but hundreds were transported from there and set on stone platforms called ahu around the...
(statues). Hanga Roa and the surrounding area have a number of impressive moai, but there are larger ones elsewhere on the island.
The actual hotel capacity is about 600 beds and the lodging offer goes from little hostels and luxury hotels. Rates range from US$60 to US$800 dollars per person.
In addition to tourism, other businesses in Hanga Roa include fishing, farming and administration (several Chilean government departments including the Chilean Navy
Chilean Navy
-Independence Wars of Chile and Peru :The Chilean Navy dates back to 1817. A year before, following the Battle of Chacabuco, General Bernardo O'Higgins prophetically declared "this victory and another hundred shall be of no significance if we do not gain control of the sea".This led to the...
maintain a presence on the island).
The island's only airport, Mataveri International Airport
Mataveri International Airport
-See also:*Extreme points of Earth*Shuttle Down, a 1980 novel by American author G. Harry Stine , which gives a fictional account of the Space Shuttle Atlantis making an emergency landing.-External links:***...
, is served by LAN Airlines, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
's national carrier. LAN offers direct flights to Santiago
Santiago, Chile
Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...
, Papeete
Papeete
-Sights:* Interactive Google map of Papeete, to discover the 30 major tourist attractions in Papeete downtown.*The waterfront esplanade*Bougainville Park -Sights:* Interactive Google map of Papeete, to discover the 30 major tourist attractions in Papeete downtown.*The waterfront...
and Lima
Lima
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
from Easter Island and is the only commercial carrier that regularly flies to the island.
As well as a small local fishing industry, the harbour has a shipping service to Valparaiso
Valparaíso
Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...
, Chile.