Easter Island - Rapa Nui Explorer

After the flight from Santiago to Easter Island, we're met at the airport by our friendly local guide and taken to the main town and captital of Easter Island, Hanga Roa, where almost 90% of Easter Island's inhabitants live.

 

We check in to our hotel and our guide tells us about the upcoming itinerary. Then we enjoy a good night´s rest, ready for tomorrow's adventure. Our first choice hotel will be Hotel O'Tai.

 

Early in the morning we start our tour of the island which will lead us through hundreds of years of history over the next few days. First we do a morning cultural tour visiting the curious artisanal market, the archeological museum, the church and Ana Kai Cavern.

 

After lunch we continue our excursion with a superb hike to Mangau Tera Vaka. Leaving Hanga Roa by car we drive to Ahu Akivi then begin our hike uphill to the top of the island's youngest volcano, Maunga Terevaka. We get a beautiful panoramic view around the coast of the Island and really feel the sensation of being on one of the world's most remote islands. Alter a rest, we start to hike down through a eucalyptus forest until we arrive at the old sheep farm, Vaitea, where we are picked up and driven back to the hotel. 

 

We start the day by visiting Ahu Akivi again. Unlike other Rapa Nui ceremonial sites, Akivi is not located on the coast and the moai are facing the ocean rather than with their backs to it - very enigmatic for researchers. We also visit Puna Pau, the Island’s ancient stone quarry, and Te Pahu Cavern and Ahu Vinapu. In Vinapu we find Ahu Tahira, a key place supporting the theory that the Easter Islanders sailed across the ocean from South America due to its walls made of perfectly carved and fitted stone blocks strikingly similar to the work from the Tiahuanaco era in Bolivia and the Inca walls in Peru. We then return to Hanga Roa to have lunch. 

 

After lunch we start driving towards Rano Kao volcano, the biggest on the island, whose enormous crater is now a fresh water lake with floating green fields of totora reeds. This site offers an exceptional view of three craggy islands where the bizarre "bird-man" ritual took place. Nearby we find the ruined village of Orongo where almost 50 stone buildings, amazing “bird-man” petroglyphs and Ahu Tahai ceremonial center are located. Afterwards we drive back to our hotel.

 

After enjoying a hearty breakfast, we drive along a coastal road until reaching Hanga Te’e and the ancient temple of Vahiu with Ahu Akahanga and Ahu Tongariki alter sites (Ahu means sacred place and refers to the rectangular stone platform on which the Moai statues were erected). These sites were recently restored after the tidal wave from the Great Chilean Earthquake in 1960 washed the statues meters away from their original settings.

 

Afterwards, we continue to Ahu Te Pito Te Kura, an amazing perfectly rounded stone used for ceremonial purposes. If we put a compass on the stone it would start spinning crazily and finally show a wrong direction! We continue our exploration at Ahu Nau Nau and Rano Raraku, whose border is ringed with some of the Moais leading towards the quarry inside the crater rim. Here the Moai were cut from Volcanic tuff and some 150 unfinished figures were mysteriously left there.

 

We finally head down to Anakena Beach, the legendary landing place of Hota Matua, founder of the island. We head back to Hanga Roa for our final night on the Island.

 

After a morning spent packing, relaxing and soaking up final views, we are driven back to the airport in time for the flight back to Santiago...Adios Isla de Pascua!