"For the first time a moai will return to (Easter) Island from the mainland," said Culture Minister Consuelo Valdés in a statement.
Easter Island, located 3,700 km from the Chilean coast in the Pacific, is famous throughout the world for its enigmatic "moai", monumental statues created more than a millennium ago.
The Moai Tau, which is about to return to the island, is a basalt monolith weighing 715 kilos.
It had been taken on a ship of the Chilean navy in 1870. It had been on display since 1878 at the National Museum of Natural History in Santiago.
In 2018, the Rapa Nui people asked the Chilean government for the return of this statue and other pieces belonging to the island's heritage.
Veronica Tukihito, a Rapa Nui representative (L), and Chilean Culture Minister Consuelo Valdes stand near a giant Easter Island statue on display at the National Museum of Natural History in Santiago, Chile, 21 February 2022 before returning to the island - Natural History Museum of Chile/AFP
The monolith will be transported by boat from the port of Valparaiso (center).
The ship will set sail on Monday for a five-day voyage to the island.
"For me and for my people, it is fundamental that the moai return to their native land. We have been waiting for this day for a long time", reacted Veronica Tuqui, a Rapa Nui representative.
On the island, the statue will be exhibited at the Padre Sebastian Englert Anthropological Museum.
The Rapa Nui also demanded from the British Museum in London the return of the Moai Hoa Hakananai'a, a monolith 2.4 meters high and weighing four tons.
It had been removed from the island without authorization in 1868 by the navigator Richard Powill who had offered it to Queen Victoria.
© 2022 AFP