Rapa Nui (Easter Island)
This well-organized museum makes a perfect introduction to the island's history and culture. It displays basalt fishhooks, obsidian spearheads and other weapons, circular beehive-shaped huts, petroglyphs, funerary cists and a rare female moai. It also features replica Rongorongo tablets, covered in rows of tiny symbols resembling hieroglyphs.
Researchers have proposed various theories on the nature of the script, but it's still an enigma to decipher.
3.62 MILES
Nearly covered in a bog of floating totora reeds, the crater lake of Rano Kau resembles a giant witch's cauldron and is a wild greenhouse of endemic…
8.18 MILES
Known as 'the nursery,' the volcano of Rano Raraku, about 18km from Hanga Roa, is the quarry for the hard tuff from which the moai were cut. You'll feel…
9.1 MILES
The monumental Ahu Tongariki has plenty to set your camera's flash popping. With 15 imposing statues, it is the largest ahu ever built. The statues gaze…
7.58 MILES
Beach bums in search of a place to wallow will love this postcard-perfect, white-sand beach. It also forms a lovely backdrop for Ahu Nau Nau, which…
2.17 MILES
The vast majority of Rapa Nui falls within the boundaries of this national park. Think of it like an open-air museum with mysterious archaeological sites…
9.34 MILES
At the eastern end of the island, this high plateau is crowned by the extinct volcano Maunga Pu A Katiki (400m) and bound in by steep cliffs. There are…
0.26 MILES
Ahu Tahai is a highly photogenic site that contains three restored ahu (ceremonial platform). Ahu Tahai proper is the ahu in the middle, supporting a…
2.35 MILES
Unusual for its inland location, Ahu Akivi, the first scientific restoration on the island (in 1960), sports seven restored moai. They are the only ones…
0.26 MILES
Ahu Tahai is a highly photogenic site that contains three restored ahu (ceremonial platform). Ahu Tahai proper is the ahu in the middle, supporting a…
0.32 MILES
You'll find this ahu with a solitary moai along the coastline, north of Hanga Roa.
0.8 MILES
Your first encounter with the moai will probably take place at Ahu Tautira, which overlooks Caleta Hanga Roa, the fishing port in Hanga Roa at the foot of…
0.82 MILES
The unmissable Iglesia Hanga Roa, the island's Catholic church, is well worth a visit for its spectacular carvings, which integrate Christian doctrine…
0.83 MILES
If you've just arrived and can't wait for your first encounter with the moai (large anthropomorphic statues), head straight to Ahu Tautira. This site…
0.9 MILES
For a little dip, the tiny beach at Playa Pea, on the south side of Caleta Hanga Roa, fits the bill (though it's more of a rocky cove than a sandy oasis).
1.47 MILES
The volcanic Puna Pau quarry was used to make the reddish, cylindrical pukao (topknots) that were placed on many moai. Some 60 of these were transported…
1.51 MILES
Easily overlooked by visitors, the little Caleta Hanga Piko is used by local fishers. Facing away from the caleta, the restored Ahu Riata supports a…