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Explora Rapa Nui Turns an Easter Island Hillside Into a Base Camp for the Moai
Explora Rapa Nui, known on opening in December 2007 as Posada de Mike Rapu, sits on a hillside above the ocean near Hanga Roa and was built as a base for guided excursions to Easter Island's moai sites rather than a resort to stay inside.
By BigTravel.in Editorial Team · · 2 min read
Easter Island's most photographed structures are its moai, the carved stone figures that face inland from ceremonial platforms around the coast. Its most useful hotel is a low hillside lodge a few kilometres outside Hanga Roa, the island's only town. Explora Rapa Nui, which opened in December 2007 under its original name, Posada de Mike Rapu, was built on roughly 9.6 hectares in the Te Miro Oone sector, facing the Pacific, with the specific brief of getting guests out to the island's archaeological sites rather than keeping them on the property.
Built low, built local
The lodge uses volcanic rock native to the island alongside pine brought from mainland Chile, and its 30 rooms and suites are arranged to sit into the hillside rather than above it. The name Posada de Mike Rapu referred to a local diver and entrepreneur who partnered on the project; the property now trades under the wider Explora brand, which runs a small number of similarly excursion-led lodges across Chile and Peru.
The point is the excursions
Guests are assigned bilingual guides, most of them Rapa Nui by birth, and the day is built around graded excursions rather than a fixed itinerary: gentler walks suit a first visit, longer treks and dawn departures suit repeat guests chasing quieter light at the sites. The excursions typically run out to Rano Raraku, the volcanic crater where most of the island's moai were carved and partially abandoned mid-transport, and to Ahu Tongariki, the largest reconstructed platform, where fifteen moai stand in a row facing the interior.
What it isn't
It is not a beach resort and not designed as one; Easter Island's coastline is dramatic rather than calm, and swimming options are limited. It is also not walkable to most sites, so a stay here assumes daily guided transport is part of the plan rather than an add-on.
Traveller tips
- Easter Island is reached via Santiago or, less frequently, Tahiti, landing at Mataveri airport just outside Hanga Roa.
- Entry to Rapa Nui National Park, which covers most of the island's archaeological sites, requires a separate park ticket bought on arrival.
- Weather shifts quickly; pack layers even in the warmer months.
- Excursions are guide-led and scheduled in advance, so a stay here suits travellers happy to follow a set daily rhythm.
Where this is
Easter Island, Chile
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