Last week we touched on the Chiloé Archipelago, with its colourful palafitos (houses on stilts) and the charming wooden churches, as well as the icy landscapes of Tierra del Fuego — home to vast glaciers and the world’s southernmost town, Puerto Williams. But that’s only a tiny glimpse of Chile’s enormous island world.
Chile is home to over 43,000 islands.
Some are no more than windswept rocks, others hold whole communities, and many hide wildlife, legends and history in the most unexpected places. This week, we’re diving into a few of the most iconic ones.
🗿 Easter Island — Mystery in the Middle of the Pacific
Easter Island has three names:
• Easter Island — given by the Dutch after arriving on Easter Sunday
• Rapa Nui — the Polynesian name
• Te Pito o Te Henua — “the navel of the sea”
It’s one of the most isolated inhabited places on Earth, and easily one of the most mysterious.
Of course, the stars of the island are the moai statues — almost 1,000 of them. Most people don’t realise they have full bodies buried beneath centuries of shifting soil. These statues were carved from volcanic tuff at Rano Raraku to honour chiefs and important ancestors. Many more remain partially buried, but most experts agree digging them up wouldn’t be respectful.
But the moai aren’t the only attraction.
Easter Island also offers:
🌴 Anakena Beach — white sand, palm trees and a calm bay
💃 Kari Kari Cultural Shows — traditional Polynesian dance and music
🏺 Anthropological Museum — with artefacts collected by Father Sebastián Englert
🐎 Horse treks to Terevaka, the island’s highest point
I can picture Erika loving the dancers, and I know I’ll be the one insisting on the horse ride up the volcano.
🌋 Robinson Crusoe Island — A Real-Life Adventure Story
In 1704, Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk was stranded alone on the island called Más a Tierra. His survival story later inspired Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe — though Crusoe’s fictional adventure is far more dramatic.
Chile later renamed the island Robinson Crusoe Island to boost tourism, and its neighbour became Alejandro Selkirk Island.
Today, you arrive in San Juan Bautista, a tiny village hugged by cliffs and forests. The island has:
• dramatic coastal hikes
• a national park
• wildlife, including species found nowhere else on Earth
I might need to read the book before going — purely for the fun of comparing fact and fiction.
🐧 Magdalena Island — Penguins Galore
Magdalena Island sits in the Strait of Magellan and comes alive every year when more than 120,000 Magellanic penguins return to breed.
Only park rangers live there year-round (three in winter, six in summer), but boat tours let you land and walk a marked path among the penguin burrows.
Between November and February, fluffy chicks waddle around learning how to penguin properly before migrating north. On the boat ride back, you might spot sea lions or dolphins cruising beside you.
If you want even bigger penguins — the regal King Penguins — there are protected viewing areas in Tierra del Fuego. Tours are limited, but both colonies are possible if you’re determined… and I definitely would be.
✨ Final Thoughts
From the ancient moai of Easter Island to the castaway history of Robinson Crusoe Island and the adorable chaos of Magdalena’s penguin colony, Chile’s islands are worlds within worlds.
Honestly, Erika and I could spend months just island-hopping — and we probably will try! But with so much more of Chile to explore on the mainland too, this is just the beginning.
Couch Potato to World Getter 
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