Easter Island Things to Do

 
by pure1942
 
  •   Things to Do
    by pure1942
  •   Things to Do
    by pure1942
  •   Things to Do
    by pure1942
  •   Things to Do
    by pure1942
  •   Things to Do
    by pure1942
 
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South Coast

by pure1942

Easter Island’s southern coast is largely flat and grassy but has a wild rugged feel about it. The southern coast was my first foray out of Hanga Roa and a first real taste of the wildness of Easter Island’s coast and interior. Scattered all along the southern coast are various ahus and ceremonial villages where you can view many fallen moai, lying as they fell centuries ago during the inter-tribal warfare that marked the end of the moai era. While blown away by the re-erected moai statues, for me there is something even more special about the fallen moai as it shows an important part of the island’s history. Thankfully the wishes of some archaeologists who want to re-erect all of the island’s moai has been denied and in my opinion that is the correct decision. While re-erecting a number of the moai is worthwhile and beneficial in order to appreciate the true grandeur of these mighty...

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Museo Antropologico Sebastian Englert

by pure1942

Before setting one more foot near on ahu, moai or ana, you need to visit this fascinating museum. The museum has various interesting displays showing replica rongo rongo tablets,traditional weapons and tools, a unique female moai, make make figures as well as charting the islands geographical, political and cultural history. While most of the display’s signage are only in Spanish there are English translations available in booklet form...just ask at the counter. I thought there was a charge for entry to the museum but when we approached the counter we were told admission was free. Not sure if this applies to certain days or times. This is an extremely worthwhile museum even if you are not a massive fan of museums...it will make your entire stay on the island more interesting and you will gain a greater understanding of what you are seeing at various sites. Museum Opening Hours:Tuesday to...

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Ahu Ko Te Riku

by pure1942

The solitary Moai standing on Ahu Ko Te Riku gives visitors a taste of what all the erected Moai on Easter Island would have originally looked like complete with ‘eyes’ and pukao (top knot). The moai at Ahu Ko Te Riku is the only statue on Easter Island that has eyes in place although the eyes were only replaced in the moai during restoration. In fact it wasn’t until 1979 that people discovered that the deep eye sockets carved into the moai were originally filled with eyeballs made from coral. Sergio Rapu Haoa is credited with having pieced together fragments of coral and obsidian found scattered around various ahu sites on the island to produce what he claimed to be moai eyes. This has been generally accepted as fact and previously unidentified coral fragments have now been catagorised as ‘eye’ fragments. It is believed that the eyes were only inserted into the sockets once the moai had...

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Ahu Vai Uru

by pure1942

Re-erected and restored by William Molloy in 1974 Ahu Vai Uri along with Ahu Ko Te Riku and Ahu Tahai is one of the most impressive and photogenic sites on the entire island, especially at sunset when the sun goes down directly behind the Ahu...in May anyway! There are five Moai erected on Ahu Vai Uru including two almost intact. Although the Moai are in varying states of repair, this actually added to the appeal of the site for me as you can see the passage of time through each of the five Moai from the intact Moai on the left to the stump of a Moai on the right. The moai with the cracked head in the middle actually ended up being one of my favourite moai...made a great silhouette at sunset. The differing appearance of these Moai is not just due to the elements and historical fortune; the moai were originally cut and erected in a variety of styles and shapes. This has lead to the belief...

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Hanga Roa

by pure1942

As the only recognisable urban centre on the entire island of Rapa Nui, Hanga Roa is where most visitors will base themselves. Bar a campsite at Anakena, accommodation on the rest of the island is virtually non-existent. Housing over 85% of the entire population of the island, Hanga Roa is the unrivalled ‘capital’ of Easter Island and is the entry point for all visitors to the island through Mataveri Airport and to a far lesser extent the island’s main harbour or ‘Caleta Hanga Roa’. Although burdened with having to cater for virtually every visitor to the island, the town still manages to maintain a low-key and easy going nature and while there are obvious signs of the town’s reliance on tourism, it has not totally sold its soul for the sake of the tourist dollar. Away from the main drag, Avenue Atamu Tekena, you won’t have to search very hard to find signs of traditional local life. The...

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Pukao

by pure1942

The curious red coloured pukao which were placed on top of some of the moai have become known as topknots. These large heavy stones were quarried from the Puna Pao volcano and were generally shaped like a top hat with a small cylinder protruding from a larger cylinder and carved from one single piece of soft scoria rock. The purpose of these strange ‘topknots’ has been shrouded in mystery and no-one is entirely sure as to their purpose. Some scholars believe the stones to have been a representation of the hairstyle popular among the islanders at the time, where they tied their long hair into a ‘bun’ on top of their heads. This traditional hairstyle is still sported by many of Rapa Nui’s people today. But why were they quarried from a different quarry? Some believe this consolidates early reports of some European explorers like Jacob Roggeveen, the first European to come across Rapa Nui,...

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Ahu

by pure1942

The term ‘ahu’ refers to the ceremonial platforms on which the giant moai statues were erected. Around 350 ahu and their remains can be found on the island, with the vast majority of them found along the coast. The construction of the ahu has led to some controversy over the years with some claiming that the precise construction of the ahu platforms is so similar to that of Inca sites in South Americas, that there is a likely link between the two ancient civilisations. These theories, while interesting and providing much food for thought, have been largely discredited by most and while it is romantic to ponder the connection, it is largely unfounded. While the ahus do share certain similarities to the great Inca style of masonry, with precision fitting of stones such as found at Ahu Te Peu and Ahu Vinapu, there are other glaring differences. While the Incas used solid stone blocks...

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Moai

by pure1942

The term ‘moai’ refers to the world famous giant statues found on Easter Island. The vast majority of these moai were cut from compressed volcanic ash known as tuff at the Rano Raraku volcano on the island’s southern coast although there are a few examples of moai that were cut elsewhere on the island. While all the moai look similar, there are actually differences between most of the moai ranging from subtle changes in expression to major differences in size, height, posture, markings and other features. These differences stem from the accepted theory that the faces of the moai depict the actual appearance of dead ancestors or ‘aringa ora ata tepuna’ whom the Rapa Nui people worshipped as deities.The moai do share certain characteristics with most being depicted as legless, tall narrow bodies with elongated heads displaying protruding eyebrows and noses and thin, stern, pouting lips....

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Rano Raraku

by rosequartzlover1

This is view from edge of the crater,looking down inside the crater,you can see the lake at the bottom.The water was not so clean ,not suitable for swimming.You can see the horses are always around so the lake may be for them than us.

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Watch the Nighttime Cultural Dance Shows

by jumpingnorman

I was thinking of what to do during the night in Hanga Roa, and fortunately, they have cultural shows available at specific nights of the week. I arrived on a Monday, and I was able to watch two shows, one that was available on Tuesday nights (KariKari) and the other one on a Thursday night (Maori Warriors). For both events, I just bought the ticket by going to both show venues.The shows both start at 9 PM and if I remember right, I think it was just about 5000 Chilean pesos? Sorry cannot remember well, but I am sure it was less than $20 and it was worth it. Both shows provide a full hour of Rapa Nui dancing. KariKari is termed as "ballet cultural Rapa Nui" show and available on Tues, Thurs and Sat. It is on the Principal Street at Atamu Te Kena s/n. Tel 2100767 cellular 78819114 The dances are entertaining with nice songs and costumes Apparently, this has been ongoing for 12 years now...

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Questions and Answers

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Q:  Hi All, I live in Macau PRC and am thinking of visiting Easter Island which is always one of my dream places. But travelling to... 

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A: Hi! Was on that amazing island a few years ago. And then the only flights from South America was from Santiago, Chile. But there were also possible to fly there from... 

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