Chile
Stone giants isolated in the middle of the Pacific, then stilt houses and UNESCO-listed wooden churches
Chile
A journey between two Chilean islands of opposing mythologies: Easter Island, the most isolated Polynesian territory in the world, where nearly a thousand stone moai watch over the coastline, then the Chiloé Archipelago, off southern mainland Chile, where colourful stilt houses and UNESCO-listed wooden churches built without a single nail bear witness to a unique syncretism between indigenous traditions and Jesuit Catholicism.
When
Oct to March
Price
From 5 200€ excl. flights
(based on 2 people sharing)
How long
8 nights
Ideal length
Days 1-2
The first chapter unfolds on Easter Island, or Rapa Nui, the most isolated inhabited territory on the planet, more than three thousand five hundred kilometres from the Chilean coast. Nearly nine hundred moai, monumental statues carved between the 13th and 16th centuries by the Rapa Nui civilisation, still stand on the island, their greatest concentration found at the Ahu Tongariki ceremonial platform, fifteen statues lined up facing the ocean.
Day 1
Ahu Tongariki and Rano Raraku volcano
A visit to Ahu Tongariki, fifteen moai lined up facing the ocean at sunrise, then to Rano Raraku volcano, the quarry where almost all the moai were carved, several of which remain unfinished on the crater's slope.
Day 2
Rano Kau volcano and the ceremonial village of Orongo
A hike to the crater of Rano Kau volcano, an immense caldera filled with a reed-carpeted lake, then a visit to the ceremonial village of Orongo, where the birdman ritual took place until the 19th century.
Days 1-2
A flight to the Chiloé Archipelago, off southern mainland Chile, where isolation has preserved a unique island culture, a blend of indigenous Huilliche traditions and Catholicism introduced by Jesuit missionaries in the 17th century. The palafitos, colourful houses built on stilts above the water, and the sixteen UNESCO-listed wooden churches, built without a single metal nail, compose an architectural landscape unlike anywhere else in Chile.
Day 1
The palafitos of Castro
A visit to Castro, the archipelago's capital, and its neighbourhoods of colourful palafitos built on stilts, followed by a tasting of curanto, a traditional dish cooked underground with hot stones.
Day 2
The wooden churches and Chilote mythology
A visit to several UNESCO-listed wooden churches, including the one at Nercón, then a meeting with a local storyteller for an introduction to Chilote mythology, populated by sea creatures and ghost ships.
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