Rapa Nui is home to the Moai statues of Rapa Nui National Park.
Rapa Nui is the Polynesian name for Easter Island, a remote Chilean island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean. Its monumental moai—large stone figures representing deified ancestors—were carved by the island’s Rapa Nui people between roughly the 13th and 16th centuries.
The statues were made mainly from volcanic tuff quarried at Rano Raraku. Many stood on ceremonial stone platforms called ahu, often facing inland toward communities rather than out to sea. Rapa Nui National Park, which protects much of the island’s archaeological heritage, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995.
A common mix-up is treating “Easter Island” and “Rapa Nui” as different islands; they are two names for the same island. The island is also famous for its rongorongo script, although its meaning remains undeciphered.