Rapa Nui (Easter Island) dive sites

The underwater Moai in Hanga Roa Bay is a replica, originally created as a prop for the 1994 film Rapa Nui. After filming, the statue was deliberately sunk at approximately 22 metres depth on a volcanic slope. Over the decades, it has become colonised by coral and marine growth, giving it an increasingly authentic ancient appearance. It is now one of Easter Island's most iconic dive attractions.

Easter Island has some of the best visibility in the world, regularly exceeding 60 metres and sometimes reaching 70 metres. This extraordinary clarity is due to the island's extreme isolation in the South Pacific, the volcanic soil that filters rainwater before it enters the ocean, and the absence of ports and river runoff. The crystal-clear water is one of the diving highlights.

Easter Island offers approximately 25 dive sites, mostly along the sheltered western coast near Hanga Roa. Highlights include Motu Nui, a rocky islet with caverns and swim-throughs, and Cathedral, a stunning lava tube formation. The volcanic underwater topography features arches, tunnels, and dramatic drop-offs. Many fish species are endemic to Easter Island, found nowhere else on Earth.

The Moai Underwater site at Hanga Roa Bay is a shallow, relatively sheltered dive centred on a submerged Moai replica and volcanic slope at up to 22 metres. Motu Nui Cave is a cave diving experience on the exposed southwestern coast near the sacred islet of Motu Nui, involving penetration of volcanic lava tubes at depths to 25 metres. The two sites represent entirely different diving experiences: one is a gentle cultural dive accessible to intermediate divers, while Motu Nui Cave demands advanced certification, cave diving comfort, and careful boat management on an exposed coastline.

Motu Nui is the largest of three islets off Easter Island's southwestern tip at Orongo, and it played a central role in the Tangata Manu or Birdman competition, one of Rapa Nui's most important cultural ceremonies. Each spring, competitors would swim the shark-infested channel to Motu Nui to retrieve the first egg of the sooty tern, and the winner's sponsor became the Birdman, holding great status for a year. The underwater caves near Motu Nui were part of this cultural landscape. Divers should approach the area with cultural sensitivity and follow all guidelines from Rapa Nui National Park.