Its fame and World Heritage status arise from the 887 extant stone statues known by the name "moai", whose creation is attributed to the early Rapa Nui people who inhabited the island starting between 300 and 1200 AD.

Much of the island has been declared as Rapa Nui National Park which, on 22 March 1996, UNESCO designated a World Heritage Site under cultural criteria (i), (iii), & (v).

Rapa Nui National Park is now under the administrative control of the Ma´u Henua Polynesian Indigenous Community, which is the first autonomous institute on the island.

The indigenous Rapa Nui people have regained authority over their ancestral lands and are in charge of the management, preservation and protection of their patrimony.

On the first of December 2017, the ex-President Michelle Bachelet returned ancestral lands in the form of the Rapa Nui National Park to the indigenous people.

[3] It is home to an extinct megalithic culture which is seen in the form of edifices of huge statues called "moai" made out of volcanic rocks.

The native people were confined to a reserve area just outside the capital city of Hanga Roa and the rest of the land was leased to sheep ranchers.

The movement for independence was started in 1964 and following this the lease for sheep farming was terminated during the 1980s and the entire island was declared a historic park.

[7][8] In October 2022, a forest fire swept through the park whilst causing “irreparable” damage to wetlands and the moai statues within the archaeological site.

[11] The period between 1837 and 1864 was a critical time when, for reasons that remain unknown, all the standing statues were toppled (probably during the tribal wars), although with little damage.

[7] The location is at an elevation of 250 metres (820 ft), on a narrow ridge between the ocean, and the deep crater of Rano Kau volcano, which last erupted about 150,000 to 210,000 years ago.

[5] Its biogeographic and ecological history has undergone a sea change from what existed in the ancient days when there were palm trees and a broad leaf forest.

[3] Ferns are indigenous to Rapa Nui, and four of the 15 species noted are endemic: Doodia paschalis, Polystichum fuentesii, Elaphoglossum skottsbergii, and Thelypteris espinosae.

[3] Also noted in the lower level of the Rano Raraku crater are tall bulrushes like totora that were probably introduced by seafarers from South America.

The reptiles recorded are three species of marine turtles and two terrestrial lizards, Lepidodactylus lugubris and Ablepharus boutoui poecilopleurus.

[14] The Rapa Nui National Park is now under the administrative control of the Ma´u Henua Polynesian Indigenous Community, which is the first autonomous institute on the island.

The indigenous Rapa Nui people have regained authority over their ancestral lands and are in charge of the management, preservation and protection of their patrimony.

On the first of December 2017, the ex-President Michelle Bachelet returned ancestral lands in the form of the Rapa Nui National Park to the indigenous people.