Anakena Beach, Easter Island

Anakena Beach, Easter Island

Most visitors to Easter Island spend their time moving between moai sites in vehicles, stopping, photographing, moving on. Anakena is different: a genuine white sand beach on the northern coast, about 20 kilometres from Hanga Roa, where you can stay for an afternoon rather than just pass through. It is the only real swimming beach on the island, the palm trees planted here (replacing the originals lost to the deforestation debate) provide shade, and Ahu Nau Nau immediately behind the beach has seven restored moai standing with their backs to the sea in the traditional coastal posture. The setting – moai, palm trees, Pacific surf, white sand – is the image of the island that everyone carries beforehand and that most sites don’t actually deliver.

Local tradition holds that Anakena was the landing site of Hotu Matu’a, the Polynesian ancestor chief who first settled Rapa Nui. This attribution is not archaeologically verified, but the beach is one of the only natural anchorages on the island’s coast and would have been a logical landing point for Polynesian long-distance canoe navigation.

Ahu Nau Nau

The seven moai at Ahu Nau Nau are notable for retaining traces of their original pukao (topknots), the red scoria cylindrical hats placed on moai heads. Some also retain traces of the white coral eyes that were inserted into the sockets as part of the moai’s ceremonial activation. The combination of pukao and eye traces makes this platform’s moai among the most complete in terms of understanding what they looked like when functioning. Thor Heyerdahl’s team partially excavated this site in 1955; full restoration came in the 1970s.

Ahu Ature Huki

A second restored platform near Anakena has a single moai that Heyerdahl famously erected in 1956 using only wooden poles and ropes, demonstrating the feasibility of the traditional erection methods. The experiment took 180 Rapa Nui workers 18 days to raise one moai. This historical fact – that it took that much labour to raise a single statue – gives some sense of the social organisation required to have placed 900 of them across the island over centuries.

Practical Notes

The drive from Hanga Roa takes about 20 minutes on a paved road. A rental car is the practical option, though guided tours stop here as part of the standard island circuit. The beach has a small cafe-kiosk for food and drinks; bring your own water in any quantity. Swimming is possible and the water is warm enough in summer (December to March); the surf can pick up with Pacific swells, so check conditions. The island’s entry fee (around USD 80, collected at the airport) covers all national park sites including Anakena and the moai platforms.

Anakena is visited mid-morning by most tour groups. Arriving in the afternoon, after about 2pm, gives the beach and the platform more to yourself and better light for photography from the east.