The island’s remoteness, stunning geography, vast array of wildlife, and rich culture led UNESCO to declare Rapa Nui a World Heritage site in 1995. Rapa Nui is said to have been inhabited starting around 600 A.D. when a group of colonizers arrived from the Eastern Pacific. Once an extremely populated island with around 15,000 inhabitants in the 17th century, deforestation and diseases introduced by European sailors led to there being only 111 indigenous inhabitants in 1877.
