Hanga Roa

Hanga Roa is the only town in the southeastern Pacific Ocean situated, belonging to the South American Andean country Chile Easter Island. The place is situated on the south west coast of the isle, 3526 km from the Chilean coast and between the extinct volcanoes Rano Kao and Rano Raraku. The town is the capital of the province of Easter Island. Hanga Roa counts 3791 inhabitants (according to 2002 census ).

The city is home to all the major infrastructure facilities on the island. The Museum of Anthropology Museo Antropológico Sebastián Englert, named after the German missionary and linguist Sebastian Englert, shows artifacts from the island's history and informed about the Rapa Nui culture. In the village is also the only port on the island as well as Cook 's Bay, the place where the British explorer James Cook landed in 1774. Also in this bay, ships of the German East Asia Squadron 12 held on until October 18, 1914. The squadron was destroyed about one and a half months later in the naval battle in the Falkland Islands.

Just south of Hanga Roa, the Mataveri airport is ( IATA airport code: IPC ) with its 3.4 km long runway. In Hanga Roa is also the only Catholic church building on the island, the Church of Santa Cruz, where you will find the grave of the missionary Eugene Eyraud.

Until the mid-19th century, there were five more settlements on the islands, namely Anakena Tongariki Vaihu, Vinapu and Mataveri, four of which come off and has grown together with Hanga Roa. 1914 lived around 250 people in Hanga Roa.

At the harbor

Main road

A football match in Hanga Roa