Hanga Roa (; rap, Haŋa Roa, Rapa Nui pronunciation: �ha.ŋa ˈɾo.a (Spanish: ''Bahía Larga'') is the main town, harbour and seat of

Easter Island Easter Island ( rap, Rapa Nui; es, Isla de Pascua) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its nearl ...

, a municipality of

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

. It is located in the southern part of the island's west coast, in the lowlands between the extinct volcanoes of

Terevaka Ma′unga Terevaka is the largest, tallest () and youngest of three main extinct volcanoes that form Easter Island. Several smaller volcanic cones and craters dot its slopes, including a crater hosting one of the island's three lakes, Rano Aroi. ...

and

Rano Kau Rano Kau is a tall dormant 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 210,0 ...

History

''Hanga Roa'' in the native

Rapa Nui language Rapa Nui or Rapanui (, Rapa Nui: , Spanish: ), also known as Pascuan () or ''Pascuense'', is an Eastern Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family. It is spoken on the island of Rapa Nui, also known as ''Easter Island''. The isl ...

means "wide bay" or "long bay". Upon Chile's claim of the island, the

Rapa Nui Easter Island ( rap, Rapa Nui; es, Isla de Pascua) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its nearly ...

were gathered in Hanga Roa, and the rest of the land was leased to a sheep farm.Annie Murphy
For Chile, Colossal Trouble On Easter Island
''Npr.org'', 9 September 2010 (accessed on 31 May 2019) For much of the twentieth century, the rest of the island was leased to the Compañía Explotadora de la Isla de Pascua (CEDIP) (a subsidiary of

Williamson-Balfour Company The Williamson-Balfour Company (or ''Williamson, Balfour and Company'') was a Scottish owned Chilean company. Its successor company, Williamson Balfour Motors S.A., is a subsidiary of the British company Inchcape plc. The company was founded in ...

) and closed to the Rapa Nui. Some disagreements between the government of Chile and the Rapa Nui has led the locals with ancestral roots to "take over" many hotels in the city. For the locals, it is a way to draw the line between the Chilean government's policy-making in the island, and the Rapa Nui's ancestral rights on their land. In 2011, the Schiess family, owner of the Hanga Roa Hotel, donated back the land of the hotel to the Rapa Nui, but retained a 30-year management lease of the hotel. A week before, the Schiess family had personally shipped a special force squad from the

Carabineros de Chile ( en, Carabiniers of Chile) are the Chilean national law enforcement police, who have jurisdiction over the entire national territory of the Republic of Chile. Created in 1927, their mission is to maintain order and enforce the laws of Chile. T ...

to remove the locals who squatted the hotel. A prior police intervention in August 2010 had led to 25 Rapa Nui protesters being wounded.

Geography

The island's main avenue, Avenida Atamu Tekena (formerly Avenida Policarpo Toro), is the heart of the town. Many hotels, restaurants, grocery stores and pharmacies are found alongside this road. In 1998, the road was renamed after nineteenth century Rapanui king

Atamu Te Kena Atamu Tekena or Atamu te Kena, full name Atamu Maurata Te Kena ʻAo Tahi (c. 1850 – August 1892) was the penultimate ‘Ariki or Kings of Easter Island, King of Rapa Nui (i.e. Easter Island) from 1883 until his death. He was appointed as the r ...

; it had previously been named after Captain

Policarpo Toro Policarpo Toro Hurtado (born in Melipilla, Chile on February 6, 1851 – died 1921 in Santiago, Chile) was a Chilean naval officer. He enlisted in the Chilean Navy in 1871 and visited Easter Island in 1875. From 1877 to 1879, he joined the Engl ...

, the Chilean Naval officer who annexed Easter Island to Chile in 1888. The island's museum, and also the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

" Holy Cross Church", are located in the center of town. With the advent of the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, p ...

and the expansion of communication services by the Chilean government, many internet cafes and

automated teller machine An automated teller machine (ATM) or cash machine (in British English) is an electronic telecommunications device that enables customers of financial institutions to perform financial transactions, such as cash withdrawals, deposits, fund ...

s (ATM) have appeared in recent years.

Population

In 1914, the population of Hanga Roa was just 250 and the rest of the island was inhabited by large populations of sheep. It is estimated that 90% of the island's population live in Hanga Roa.Samai Haider
Hanga Roa – Launching Pad for Visiting the Moai
''Thedailystar.net'', 17 August 2018 (accessed on 31 May 2019)

Economy

Tourism

The town has a number of hotels and guesthouses which cater for tourists who come to see the island's

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

s, in particular the famous

moai Moai or moʻai ( ; es, moái; rap, moʻai, , statue) are monolithic human figures carved by the Rapa Nui people on Rapa Nui in eastern Polynesia between the years 1250 and 1500. Nearly half are still at Rano Raraku, the main moai quarry, ...

statues. Hanga Roa and the surrounding area have a number of impressive moai, but there are larger ones elsewhere on the island. Total capacity is about 2,500 beds as of 2022, ranging from camping sites to luxury hotels, including

hotel Hanga Roa Hotel Hanga Roa, also known as Hanga Roa Eco Village & Spa, as of 2020 branded as Nayara Hangaroa, is a hotel in Hanga Roa, Easter Island, overlooking the bay on the Avenue Pont. The hotel was used extensively in the 1994 film Rapa Nui. In 1994, th ...

. The Ahu Tahai archaeological complex is within a walking distance from the city's center. Every year, the city is home to the ''farandula'' cultural festival, a months-long event when the locals sculpt giant wooden statues. The celebration includes a habit where people get nude and bath in clay that covers their bodies.

Other activities

In addition to tourism, other businesses in Hanga Roa include fishing, farming and administration. Several Chilean government departments including the

Chilean Navy The Chilean Navy ( es, Armada de Chile) is the naval warfare service branch of the Chilean Armed Forces. It is under the Ministry of National Defense. Its headquarters are at Edificio Armada de Chile, Valparaiso. History Origins and the War ...

maintain a presence on the island. The harbour has a shipping service to

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

, Chile. In April 2018, the freighter ''Lago Icalma'', parked in the port of Hanga Roa, was struck by a barge. A fuel tank was ruptured, leaking diesel fuel in the waters of the port. The surrounding beaches were also blackened by the spread of the black liquid.

Infrastructure

Transportation

The island's only airport, Mataveri International Airport, is served by LATAM Airlines,

's national carrier, which offers direct 5-hour flights from

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

and weekly flights from

Papeete Papeete ( Tahitian: ''Papeete'', pronounced ) is the capital city of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of the French Republic in the Pacific Ocean. The commune of Papeete is located on the island of Tahiti, in the administrative subd ...

. It is the only commercial carrier that regularly serves the island.

Health

A new hospital was opened in 2013, replacing an older one donated in the 70s by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. The hospital has a capacity of 16 beds, and includes a delivery ward designed to also allow the practice of

folk medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before the ...

. It is the only healthcare facility on the island.

Education

Among several schools are the ''Colegio Lorenzo Baeza Vega'', which offers primary education with a focus on teaching traditional culture and

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...

, and ''Liceo Aldea Educativa'', which offers qualification in the areas of humanist studies, tourism and agriculture.

Sport

Hanga Roa has a multi-use stadium, the Estadio de Hanga Roa, which is the home ground of the

CF Rapa Nui CF Rapa Nui is an association football team from Chile which represents the territory of Easter Island in association football. Their home games are played at the Estadio de Hanga Roa, which has a capacity of approximately 2,500 people. Asociac ...

, the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

team representing Easter Island.

Access to food

The regular consumer brands sold in grocery stores are expensive due to the costly and time-consuming trip required to import those products. Locals informally sell fish, meat and vegetables. The tuna

empanada An empanada is a type of baked or fried turnover consisting of pastry and filling, common in Spanish, other Southern European, Latin American, and Iberian-influenced cultures around the world. The name comes from the Spanish (to bread, i ...

is the city's favorite snack.

Gallery

References

External links

*
Hanga Roa map on isladepascua.travel
{{Authority control Capitals of Chilean provinces Communes of Chile Geography of Easter Island Port settlements in Chile Populated places in Isla de Pascua Province Populated places in Oceania 1888 establishments in Easter Island