Easter Island, also known as Isla de Pascua in Spanish and Rapa Nui in the local language, is an island and special territory of Chile located in the southeastern Pacific Ocean. It is at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is famous for its nearly 1,000 large statues called moai, which were made by the early Rapa Nui people. In 1995, UNESCO named Easter Island a World Heritage Site, and much of the island is protected in Rapa Nui National Park. Easter Island is the only place in Polynesia where Spanish is an official language.

Experts disagree about when the first Polynesians arrived on the island. Many believe they came around the year 800, but a study from 2007 suggested they arrived closer to the year 1200. The people of Easter Island created a flourishing and hardworking culture, as shown by the island’s many large stone statues and other artifacts. Clearing land for farming and the introduction of the Polynesian rat caused the island’s forests to slowly disappear. By the time Europeans arrived in 1722, the island’s population was estimated to be between 2,000 and 3,000. European diseases, slave raids by Peru in the 1860s, and people moving to other islands like Tahiti reduced the population to 111 native inhabitants in 1877.

Chile took control of Easter Island in 1888. In 1966, the Rapa Nui people were given Chilean citizenship. In 2007, the island received the legal status of "special territory." Administratively, it is part of the Valparaíso Region and includes one area called Isla de Pascua in the Province of Isla de Pascua. According to the 2017 Chilean census, there were 7,750 people on the island, and 3,512 of them (about 45%) identified as Rapa Nui.

Easter Island is one of the world’s most remote inhabited islands. The nearest inhabited land, with about 50 residents in 2013, is Pitcairn Island, 2,075 kilometers (1,289 miles) away. The nearest town with more than 500 people is Rikitea on Mangareva Island, 2,606 kilometers (1,619 miles) away. The closest mainland area is in central Chile, 3,512 kilometers (2,182 miles) away.

Etymology

The name "Easter Island" was given by Jacob Roggeveen, a Dutch explorer who visited the island on Easter Sunday, April 5, 1722. He was searching for a place called "Davis Land." Roggeveen named the island Paasch-Eyland, which means "Easter Island" in 18th-century Dutch. The island's official Spanish name, Isla de Pascua, also means "Easter Island."

The island's current Polynesian name, Rapa Nui, which means "Big Rapa," was used after slave raids in the 1860s. This name refers to the island's shape, which is similar to the island of Rapa in the Bass Islands of the Austral Islands group. Norwegian researcher Thor Heyerdahl suggested that Rapa was the island's original name, and that the island of Rapa Iti in the Bass Islands was named by people who fled from Easter Island.

The phrase "Te pito o te henua" has been linked to the island's original name since 1877, when French researcher Alphonse Pinart translated it as "The Navel of the World" in his book. In 1912, William Churchill asked about the phrase and was told that there were three "te pito o te henua," which are the three capes (ends of land) on the island. This phrase was used like the word "Land's End" in Cornwall, England. Churchill could not find a Polynesian name for the island and thought one might not exist.

According to Barthel (1974), oral stories say the island was first called "Te pito o te kainga a Hau Maka," meaning "The little piece of land of Hau Maka." However, the word "pito" in Rapa Nui can mean "end" or "navel," so the phrase could also mean "The Navel of the World." Another name, "Mata ki te rangi," means "Eyes looking to the sky."

People from Easter Island are called "pascuense" in Spanish, but members of the indigenous community are often referred to as Rapa Nui. In 1770, Felipe González de Ahedo named the island Isla de San Carlos ("Saint Charles's Island," named after the patron saint of King Charles III of Spain) or Isla de David (likely referring to "Davis Land," sometimes called "Davis's Island").

History

According to oral traditions, the island was first settled by a group traveling in two canoes from Marae Renga (or Marae Toe Hau—also known as the Cook Islands). The group was led by the chief Hotu Matu'a and his captain, Tu'u ko Iho. The island was first discovered after a dream by Haumaka, who saw a distant land. Hotu decided to move there to escape a neighboring chief, from whom he had already lost three battles. When they arrived, the island had only one other settler, Nga Tavake 'a Te Rona. After a short stay at Anakena, the settlers moved to different parts of the island. Hotu's heir, Tu'u ma Heke, was born there. Tu'u ko Iho is believed to have brought the statues and caused them to move.

The Easter Islanders are part of Southeast Polynesia. Similar sacred areas with statues (marae and ahu) in East Polynesia show similarities with other parts of Eastern Polynesia. When Europeans first arrived, the population was about 3,000–4,000 people.

By the 15th century, two groups, called hanau, existed. These groups were based on family lines. The western and northern parts of the island belonged to the Tu'u, including the royal Miru, with the royal center at Anakena. Earlier capitals were Tahai and Te Peu. The eastern part of the island belonged to the 'Otu 'Itu. From 1724 to 1750, the 'Otu 'Itu fought the Tu'u for control of the island. This conflict continued until the 1860s. Famine followed the burning of homes and destruction of farmland. Social order collapsed, and lawlessness spread as warrior groups took control. Many people became homeless and lived underground. After the Spanish arrived in 1770, groups began to knock down statues, a practice called huri mo'ai. This was an attempt to destroy the spiritual power, or mana, represented by the statues. By the time French missionaries arrived in the 1860s, no statues remained standing.

Between 1862 and 1888, about 94% of the population died or left the island. The island suffered from blackbirding, which involved the forced taking of people to work as servants in Peru. About 1,500 people were taken, with only a few returning. Those who returned brought smallpox, which killed many of the remaining 1,500 people. Many of the island's cultural leaders, including those who preserved history and genealogy, and experts in rongorongo (a script), died.

Estimates for when Easter Island was first settled range from 400 to 1300 CE. The best current estimate is that people arrived around the 12th century CE. This likely happened at the same time as the first settlers reached Hawaii. New research using radiocarbon dating has changed earlier estimates for settlement in Polynesia. Studies suggest that the island was colonized around 1200 CE. Major changes to the environment and the creation of large statues and buildings began soon after people arrived.

According to oral traditions, the first settlement was at Anakena. Researchers believe this area was a good place to land because it has calm waters and a sandy beach. However, radiocarbon dating shows that other sites, like Tahai, were used earlier.

The island was settled by Polynesians who likely traveled in canoes or catamarans from the Gambier Islands (Mangareva) or the Marquesas Islands. Some theories suggest that Polynesians may have come from South America because of their advanced navigation skills. Evidence for this includes the presence of sweet potatoes, which originated in South America. Sweet potatoes were important in Polynesian society, but recent research suggests they may have reached Polynesia before people arrived. Other studies point to similarities in words for sweet potato between Polynesian and South American languages, as well as genetic evidence of contact between Pacific and Native American populations about 800 years ago.

When James Cook visited the island, one of his crew members, Hitihiti from Bora Bora, could communicate with the Rapa Nui people. Researchers believe early Polynesians likely traveled from Mangareva, Pitcairn, and Henderson Islands, which are halfway between the Marquesas and Easter Island. These islands are thought to have been stepping stones for early settlers. In 1999, a voyage using reconstructed Polynesian boats reached Easter Island from Mangareva in 17.5 days.

According to oral traditions recorded by missionaries in the 1860s, the island had a strong class system. A high chief, called the ariki, had power over nine other clans and their leaders. The ariki was the eldest descendant of Hotu Matu'a, the island’s legendary founder. The most visible part of the culture was the creation of large moai statues, which some believe honored ancestors. National Geographic notes that most scholars think the moai were made to honor ancestors, chiefs, or important people, but there is little written or oral history to confirm this.

It was believed that the living and the dead had a relationship where the dead provided health, fertility, and fortune, and the living offered gifts to help the dead in the spirit world. Most settlements were near the coast, and most moai were placed along the shoreline, facing inland toward the settlements and away from the sea.

In his book Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, Jared Diamond suggested that cannibalism may have occurred on Easter Island after the construction of the moai led to environmental harm. Archaeological evidence shows that the island once had many tree species, including some that grew up to 15 meters tall. However, extreme deforestation, or ecocide, disrupted the island’s ecosystem.

Geography

Easter Island is one of the most remote inhabited places in the world. Its nearest inhabited island is Pitcairn Island, located 1,931 km (1,200 mi) to the west, with about 50 people living there. The closest point on a continent is in central Chile near Concepción, 3,512 km (2,182 mi) away. Easter Island’s latitude is similar to that of Caldera, Chile, and it lies 3,510 km (2,180 mi) west of Chile’s mainland near the Biobío Region. Isla Salas y Gómez, 415 km (258 mi) to the east, is closer but has no permanent residents. The Tristan da Cunha archipelago in the southern Atlantic is also very remote, located 2,430 km (1,510 mi) from Saint Helena and 2,816 km (1,750 mi) from the South African coast.

The island is about 24.6 km (15.3 mi) long and 12.3 km (7.6 mi) wide at its widest point. It has a triangular shape and covers an area of 163.6 km² (63.2 sq mi). The highest point on the island is 507 m (1,663 ft) above sea level. There are three freshwater crater lakes—Rano Kau, Rano Raraku, and Rano Aroi—near the top of Terevaka, but no rivers or streams flow permanently.

Easter Island is a volcanic island formed by three extinct volcanoes: Terevaka, which makes up most of the island, and Poike and Rano Kau, which form the eastern and southern sides. The island has features like the crater Rano Raraku, the cinder cone Puna Pau, and many volcanic caves, including lava tubes. Poike was once a separate island but became connected to Terevaka through volcanic activity. The island’s surface is made mostly of hawaiite and basalt, types of rock rich in iron and similar to rocks found in the Galápagos Islands.

Easter Island and nearby islets like Motu Nui and Motu Iti are the tops of a large underwater mountain that rises more than 2,000 m (6,600 ft) from the ocean floor. This mountain is part of the Salas y Gómez Ridge, a long chain of underwater mountains formed by the Easter hotspot. The ridge begins near Easter Island with seamounts called Pukao and Moai and stretches 2,700 km (1,700 mi) east to the Nazca Ridge. This chain was created as the Nazca Plate moved over the Easter hotspot.

Easter Island is located about 350 km (220 mi) east of the East Pacific Rise and lies within the Nazca Plate, which borders the Easter Microplate. The Nazca Plate moves about 150 mm (5.9 in) per year relative to the Pacific Plate. This movement has created the Easter Seamount Chain, which connects to the Nazca Ridge. Easter Island and Isla Salas y Gómez are visible parts of this chain. The chain’s youngest parts are on the western side, and the current hotspot is believed to be west of Easter Island near the Ahu, Umu, and Tupa volcanic fields.

Easter Island sits on the Rano Kau Ridge and is made of three shield volcanoes with similar geological histories. Poike and Rano Kau are on the east and south sides of Terevaka, respectively. Rano Kau formed between 0.78 and 0.46 million years ago from tholeiitic to alkalic basalts. It has a clearly defined summit caldera. Benmoreitic lava flowed around the caldera between 0.35 and 0.34 million years ago. Between 0.24 and 0.11 million years ago, a 6.5 km (4.0 mi) fissure formed, creating monogenetic vents and rhyolitic intrusions, including the islets of Motu Nui and Motu Iti.

Poike formed from tholeiitic to alkali basalts between 0.78 and 0.41 million years ago. Its summit collapsed into a caldera, which was later filled by lava flows from 0.36 million years ago. Later, trachytic lava domes formed along a fissure.

Terevaka formed around 0.77 million years ago from tholeiitic to alkali basalts. Its summit collapsed into a caldera, and cinder cones formed on the western rim around 0.3 million years ago. Porphyritic benmoreitic lava filled the caldera, and pahoehoe lava flowed to the north and southeast, forming lava tubes. Lava domes and vents formed in the Maunga Puka area, while breccias formed along the vents on Rano Aroi. The volcano’s southern and southeastern sides are made of younger lava flows from 0.24 million years ago, including basalt, hawaiite, mugearite, and benmoreite. The youngest lava flow, Roiho, is 0.11 million years old. The Hanga O Teo embayment is thought to be a 200 m high landslide scarp.

Rano Raraku and Maunga Toa Toa are isolated tuff cones formed about 0.21 million years ago. Rano Raraku’s crater holds a freshwater lake. The tuff in the crater is made of sideromelane, slightly altered to palagonite, and contains fragments of older lava flows. Reddish volcanic ash is found in the northwest part of Rano Raraku. Ancient residents of Easter Island carved statues from the light, porous tuff of Rano Raraku. A carving was abandoned when a dense, hard fragment was encountered, but these fragments were used to make stone tools. Pumice from Puna Pau was used to carve the Pukao "hats," and Maunga Orito obsidian was used for "mataa" spearheads.

In the early 20th century, steam was reported coming from the Rano Kau crater wall. This was photographed by the island’s manager, Mr

Ecology

Easter Island, along with its nearby island, Isla Salas y Gómez, which is 415 km (258 mi) farther east, is recognized by scientists as a unique area called the Rapa Nui tropical broadleaf forests. The original forests that covered the island are no longer there, but studies of ancient plant remains, such as fossil pollen and tree molds from lava flows, show that the island once had a variety of trees, shrubs, ferns, and grasses. A large palm tree called Paschalococos disperta, related to the Chilean wine palm, was a major tree on the island, as shown by evidence from the past. This palm likely took nearly 100 years to grow to full size. The Polynesian rat, brought to the island by early settlers, played a significant role in the palm’s decline. While some believe rats caused most of the forest damage, less than 10% of palm nuts show signs of rat teeth. Evidence of cut palm stumps suggests humans felled the trees, as the stumps were removed in large areas.

The loss of palms for building settlements led to their extinction around 350 years ago. Another tree, the Sophora toromiro, once grew on Easter Island but is now extinct in the wild. Scientists at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and the Göteborg Botanical Garden are working to reintroduce this tree to the island. With the loss of palms and the toromiro, the island received less rainfall due to reduced condensation. By the mid-1900s, the island was mostly grassland, with reeds called nga'atu or totora in the crater lakes of Rano Raraku and Rano Kau. These reeds, which are also found in the Andes, were once used to argue that Easter Island’s statue builders had South American origins. However, pollen analysis shows these reeds have grown on the island for over 30,000 years. Before humans arrived, Easter Island had large seabird colonies with over 30 species, possibly the richest in the world. These colonies no longer exist on the main island. Fossils show six species of land birds, all now extinct. Five introduced bird species now live there.

Little is known about the ocean life around Easter Island and its nearby waters. However, scientists suggest that areas near Easter Island and Isla Salas y Gómez might be breeding grounds for whales such as humpbacks and pygmy blue whales. Potential breeding areas for fin whales have also been found near the island.

A medicine called sirolimus, also known as rapamycin, was first discovered in a soil sample from Easter Island. It was found in a bacterium called Streptomyces hygroscopicus. Scientists are now studying this drug to see if it can help extend the lives of mice.

Trees on Easter Island are now rare and do not form natural groves. Some argue that the island’s original inhabitants may have cut down forests to build statues and grow food. Experiments show that statues could have been moved using wooden frames or ropes. Rapa Nui traditions describe spiritual power, called mana, as the force that moved the statues. Recent studies suggest that ropes might have been used to move the statues, which may not have caused the island’s environmental decline.

The island’s location in the southern hemisphere may have made it more affected by the Little Ice Age (1650–1850), though this is still uncertain. Some scientists believe the climate changes of this period contributed to the loss of trees and resources. However, experts disagree on when the island’s palms disappeared.

In his book Collapse, Jared Diamond argues that the island’s deforestation was mainly caused by human activity, not climate changes. He links the decline of the island’s civilization in the 17th and 18th centuries to the loss of trees, fish, and birds. However, he notes that the Bird Man cult continued to thrive even after European contact.

When Europeans first arrived, Easter Island had some trees, including the toromiro, which became extinct in the wild by the 20th century. Early European accounts describe the island’s people growing yams, bananas, and sweet potatoes. Their homes, called hare paenga, had roofs shaped like overturned boats. These homes were built on basalt slabs with layers of reeds and woven leaves.

Some reports suggest large trees still existed when Europeans arrived, but others, like the logbook of Jakob Roggeveen’s captain, mention few trees. Plantations were often located inland, away from the harsh coastal winds. The statue quarry, near the coast, was not explored by Europeans until the 19th century.

Easter Island has experienced severe soil erosion due to past deforestation and modern sheep farming. Early explorers, like Jakob Roggeveen, described the island as fertile, with abundant food. The islanders used a farming method called lithic mulching, which involved placing rocks on soil to retain moisture and nutrients.

Culture

The most important myths are:

The Rapa Nui people lived in a Stone Age culture and used local stone for many purposes.

The large stone statues, called moai, for which Easter Island is famous, were carved between 1100 and 1680 CE (corrected carbon dating). A total of 887 large stone statues have been counted on the island and in museums. These statues are often called "Easter Island heads," but they actually have torsos, with most ending at the top of the thighs. A few are complete figures that kneel with their hands over their stomachs. Some upright moai have become buried up to their necks because of shifting soil.

Almost all (95%) of the moai were carved from compressed volcanic ash or tuff, a type of rock found at one location near the extinct volcano Rano Raraku. The islanders used only stone hand chisels, mostly made of basalt, to carve the statues. These chisels were sharpened by removing small pieces of stone when they became dull. Water was splashed on the volcanic rock during carving to make it softer. While many teams worked on different statues at the same time, a single moai took a team of five or six people about a year to complete. Each statue represented the deceased leader of a family group.

Only a quarter of the statues were placed on platforms. Nearly half remained in the quarry at Rano Raraku, and the rest were left elsewhere, possibly on their way to their final locations. The largest moai raised on a platform is called "Paro." It weighs 82 tonnes and is 9.89 meters long. Several other statues of similar size were moved to platforms on the north and south coasts.

Possible ways the statues were moved include using a miro manga erua, a Y-shaped sledge with cross pieces, pulled with ropes made from the tough bark of the hau tree and tied around the statue's neck. Between 180 and 250 people were needed to pull the ropes, depending on the size of the moai. Vince Lee, a researcher, demonstrated how moai might have been moved. About 50 statues have been re-erected in modern times. One of the first was raised in 1956 during a Heyerdahl expedition.

Another possible method for moving the moai involved attaching ropes to the statue and rocking it forward. This could explain the legend that the moai "walked" to their final locations. This method might have required as few as 15 people.

There is debate about how creating the moai affected the environment. Some believe the process caused widespread deforestation and led to a civil war over limited resources.

In 2011, a large moai statue was found buried underground. During the same excavation, some larger moai were discovered with complex carvings on their torsos.

In 2020, a pickup truck crashed into and destroyed a moai statue due to brake failure. No one was hurt in the accident.

Ahu are stone platforms. They vary in size and layout, and many were changed during or after the huri mo'ai, a time when statues were toppled. Some became places where bones were stored, one was destroyed by dynamite, and Ahu Tongariki was moved inland by a tsunami. Of the 313 known ahu, 125 had moai—usually one, likely because of the short time available to transport them. Ahu Tongariki, located one kilometer from Rano Raraku, had the most and tallest moai, 15 in total. Other notable ahu with moai include Ahu Akivi, restored in 1960 by William Mulloy, Nau Nau at Anakena, and Tahai. Some moai may have been made of wood and are now lost.

The classic features of an ahu include:

On top of many ahu were:

Ahu evolved from the traditional Polynesian marae, which were sacred spaces where ceremonies took place. On Easter Island, ahu and moai became much larger. The largest ahu is 220 meters long and holds 15 statues, some over 9 meters tall. The materials used to build ahu were mostly local, except for broken moai fragments. The stones used were smaller than the moai, so less effort was needed to transport them, but leveling the ground and filling the ahu was hard work.

Ahu are mostly found on the coast, where they are spread out evenly. Exceptions include the western slopes of Mount Terevaka and the Rano Kau and Poike headlands, where they are much rarer. These areas have less flat coastal land and are farther from Rano Raraku. One ahu with several moai was recorded on the cliffs of Rano Kau in the 1880s but had fallen to the beach before the Routledge expedition. At least three ahu on Poike recorded in the 1930s have since disappeared.

One of the best examples of Easter Island stone masonry is the rear wall of the ahu at Vinapu. This wall was built without mortar by precisely shaping large basalt rocks to fit together perfectly, similar to some Inca stone walls in South America.

Other structures on Easter Island include hare paenga, hare oka, tupa, hare moa, and the unique stone houses of Orongo village.

Hare paenga, often called "boat houses," were the main homes for ancient Rapa Nui people. They had elliptical foundations made of carefully shaped basalt stones that supported thatched roofs shaped like upside-down boat hulls. This design helped them withstand strong winds. Some hare paenga were up to 45 meters long, suggesting they were used by large families or for gatherings.

Hare oka were round stone structures, but their exact purpose is unclear. Tupa were similar in design but were used by astronomer-priests who studied the stars, showing the importance of astronomy in Rapa Nui culture.

Hare moa were long, rectangular stone enclosures used to keep chickens. These structures were placed in villages to protect and monitor the birds, which were valuable for food and possibly ceremonies.

The village of Orongo had unique stone houses built from flat basalt slabs from the Rano Kao crater. These houses, built around 1400 CE, were designed to withstand harsh coastal weather. The entrances were very low, requiring people to crawl inside, which may have helped protect the buildings from wind and added strength.

Easter Island has one of the richest collections of petroglyphs in Polynesia. Around 1,000 sites with more than 4,000 petroglyphs have been recorded. These carvings were made for many reasons, such as

Demographics

In 2012, the population of Easter Island was 5,761, which grew from 3,791 in 2002. In 2002, 60% of the population were people of indigenous Rapa Nui origin, 39% were mainland Chileans (or their descendants) of European (mostly Spanish) or mestizo (mixed European and indigenous Chilean) origin, and Easter Island-born mestizos of European and Rapa Nui and/or native Chilean descent. The remaining 1% were indigenous mainland Chilean Amerindians (or their descendants). By 2012, the population density on Easter Island was 35 people per square kilometer (91 per square mile).

In 1982, the population was 1,936. The increase in population between 1982 and 2012 was partly due to people of European or mixed European and Native American descent moving to Easter Island from the mainland of Chile. However, most of these people married Rapa Nui spouses. Around 70% of the population were natives. Estimates of the population before European arrival range from 7,000 to 17,000. Easter Island’s lowest population was 111 people in 1877. Of these 111 Rapa Nui, only 36 had descendants, and all modern Rapa Nui claim to be descendants of those 36 people.

The traditional language of Easter Island is Rapa Nui, an Eastern Polynesian language similar to Hawaiian and Tahitian. However, Spanish is the official language used on the island, as it is in the rest of Chile. Easter Island is the only place in Polynesia where Spanish is an official language.

It is believed that the 2,700 indigenous Rapa Nui living on the island have some knowledge of their traditional language. However, census data does not show which languages are most commonly spoken. Recent reports suggest that as few as 800 people can speak Rapa Nui fluently. The number of fluent speakers has decreased over time because of Hispanicization, which is the growing influence of Spanish culture. Since Easter Island is part of Chile, many people from the mainland of Chile live there, and most of them speak only Spanish. For this reason, most Rapa Nui children now grow up speaking Spanish, and those who learn Rapa Nui often begin learning it later in life. Even with efforts to preserve the language, Rapa Nui is now considered a threatened language by Ethnologue.

The names of places on Easter Island, known as toponymy, have mostly survived with only a few changes from Spanish. This is partly because the Rapa Nui language has remained in use.

Administration and legal status

The commune of Isla de Pascua, also known as Easter Island, shares the special status of "special territory" with the commune of Juan Fernández in Chile. This status was granted in 2007. In 2011, a special plan for the island was being discussed by the Chilean Congress.

Administratively, the island is a province (Isla de Pascua Province) within the Valparaíso Region and includes one commune (Isla de Pascua). Both the province and commune are named Isla de Pascua and cover the entire island, its surrounding islets and rocks, and Isla Salas y Gómez, which is about 380 kilometers (240 miles) to the east. The provincial governor is chosen by the President of Chile. The local government is located in Hanga Roa and includes a mayor and a six-member council. These officials are elected by voters for four-year terms.

In August 2018, a law was passed to limit the time non-residents could stay on the island to 30 days.

From 1966 until 2021, people who committed crimes such as rape, sexual abuse, or property damage on Easter Island received lighter punishments compared to similar crimes on the mainland of Chile. This law was removed in 2021 by a decision from the Constitutional Court.

International relations

Easter Island has groups that handle international matters, such as the Migration and International Police Unit of the Investigations Police (PDI) at Mataveri International Airport. The island also has the Rapa Nui Alliance Française, which helps share French culture and language. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Mataveri International Airport had flights to Papeete in French Polynesia. Papeete is connected to Easter Island through shared history, culture, and the movement of people between countries. Both places celebrate events like the Festival of Pacific Arts (FESTPAC), which happens every four years and takes place on different Polynesian islands each time.

Transportation

Easter Island has Mataveri International Airport, which provides airplane service with Boeing 787s from LATAM Chile. During certain times of the year, other companies, such as LATAM Perú, also offer flights to the island.