Chile, the country that has overseen it as a province since 1888, is about 3 600km away, and until the Mataveri International Airport was built in the 1960s, getting there was possible only by ship.

After almost six hours of flying from Santiago over the Pacific Ocean, we descended through the clouds and in the middle of a deep blue ocean we first laid eyes on the tiny triangular shaped land of Easter Island.

We were greeted at the airport with a garland of flowers and whisked off to our accommodation, a few minutes from the airport in Hanga Roa, the only town on the island. There are several hotels and guest houses and we stayed at Iorana Hotel, which was clean, friendly and adequate.

We could hardly contain our excitement at the adventure that awaited and within minutes of arriving at the hotel we were out site-seeing. Most of the island is covered with stone and has jagged cliffs for a coastline. Easter Island is also strewn with over 800 breathtaking Moai statues averaging over 5m in height. Only a few of these remain upright and in their original places.

Five days is probably the minimum you should stay on the island to even begin to experience its extraordinary treasures - not to mention the wild and beautiful landscape.

The island was named by Dutch sea captain Jacob Roggeveen, who was the first European to visit and landed on Easter Sunday April 5 1722. Easter Island is known by the locals as Rapa Nui and Isla de Pascua by the Chileans.

Roggeveen made known what he had seen: a barren island where hundreds of enormous human-shaped statues lined the coast. It intrigued him that such primitive people, on an island devoid of timber and pack-animals, could have moved such large objects. Roggeveen's reports sparked much interest and soon many ships were headed there. However, by the time Captain James Cook arrived in 1772 all the Moai were all lying down.

Why had all the statues fallen? At some point Easter Island's population had risen to around 10 000 but this was more than the island's resources could accommodate. The population was under strain, leading to tribal wars and reports of cannibalism. During this time all the Moai along the coastline were toppled.

Many of the Moai have since been re-erected by various archaeologists and the population has increased from a mere 110 at the turn of the last century to around 2 000 locals and 1 000 foreigners.

The volcano, Rano Raraku provided the statues' stones. Here we walked among the fallen giants where some 394 statues remain unfinished and in this vast volcanic workshop some are still attached to the inner rock, some upright on the crater's outer slope, as if frozen on their way out.

Adventurous climbers can move among them and climb to the top of the crater as we did. Inside the crater, about 800m wide, grazed wild horses which are found in abundance all over the island. The freshwater lake is filled with reeds and from this vantage point one looks over the entire expanse of the island and the vast Pacific which is just spectacular.

From Rano Raraku, it is a short walk toward the coast to Ahu Tongariki, where a Chilean archaeology team restored a row of 15 Moai, completed in 1995. The Moai were hoisted into position by a crane built by a Japanese company, a reminder of the ancients' impressive feat. The sight of these towering figures on their original ceremonial platform, or Ahu, gives one an idea of what Roggeveen had seen, when hundreds of Moai skirted the island.

Anakena beach, about 19km from town, is a delight and swimming in the warm, clear azure water is a must. This is also a great place for a picnic lunch. Just beyond the beach Ahu Nau Nau, is the very first Moai to be re-erected and restored in the mid-1950s by Thor Heyerdahl.

Of the seven sitting on top of the Ahu, four have topknots made out of red scoria or pukau, a soft volcanic rock. Legend has it the first king, Hotu Matua, landed his canoe here. On the way back from Anakena to Hanga Roa is Puna Pau, the quarry for the pukau that once crowned the Moai.

We booked a scuba dive through Mike Rapa's dive shop and the water was fantastically warm and crystal clear, while the coral was brilliantly coloured.

Easter Island is tiny, so it is possible to get around fairly easily by car. Its longest side is the southern coast, which is 22km long, and at its widest point it is 18km across. At each of its three outer points there is an inactive volcano. Rental cars, generally Jeeps, are available from rental agencies in Hanga Roa, as are as dirt bikes. Hiking, cycling or horseback riding are other options.

Easter Island has a fascinating and extensive cave system to explore. No areas are currently off-limits, but do respect the archaeological work and the Rapa Nui writing form rongorongo which no one has yet deciphered.

Since everything is imported, be prepared for higher food and drink costs. Around 25 restaurants cater to tourists on the island. Menus tend to be limited, but the range of fish is impressive. There are also a few shops stocking necessities.

Despite the occasional landing of a commercial jet and visiting cruise ship, the island is still profoundly secluded. The nearest inhabited land, tiny Pitcairn Island, is 2 016km away. In 1935 most of the island was declared a national park to protect the archaeological sights and since 1995 it is a Unesco World Heritage Site.

The main languages spoken on Easter Island are Chilean Spanish and Rapa Nui, a Polynesian language which is spoken by all islanders, but we didn't struggle too much with English.

Many souvenir-sellers and restaurant staff will still greet you with "iorana" rather than "buenos dias", despite the island's economy increasingly revolving around tourism.

Most, if not all of the commerce on this island occurs in the port town of Hanga Roa. There are a number of small touristy shops, as well as an open market. The official currency is the Chilean peso, although, as on the mainland, transactions can often be performed in US dollars.

When buying souvenirs it is best to use cash. You can buy Moai replicas, rongorongo tablets and other local artefacts at the markets.

Temperatures rarely exceed 30ºC and do not drop below 14ºC so Easter Island can be visited most of the year.

Be prepared for wind, which keeps the temperature comfortable, and for light rain several times a day.

May is the rainiest month, but the porous volcanic soil drains quickly. Bring comfortable clothes, good walking shoes or boots, a jersey and a windbreaker. The most expensive and crowded months are during the summer season of December to March.

Easter Island today remains one of the most unusual places you will ever visit, basically an open-air museum. The islanders are a sensual, mysterious people, believers in their Moai, struggling to hold onto their unique identity, yet aware that they need development, education and the tourist trade to survive.

For many, Easter Island will be a once- in-a-lifetime experience. For us, we hope to return. Easter Island has been one of the high points of our travels and we cannot recommend it more highly. Go see it for yourself!