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Top choice in Rapa Nui (Easter Island)
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 comprises seven moai, some with topknots. On a rise south of the beach stands Ahu Ature Huki and its lone moai, which was re-erected by Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl with the help of a dozen islanders in 1956.
Facilities include public toilets as well as food and souvenir stalls.
10.75 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…
4.18 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…
4.61 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…
9.56 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…
4.03 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…
7.85 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…
5.24 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…
3.68 MILES
Maunga Terevaka is the island's highest point (507m) and the youngest of its three volcanoes. This barren hill is only accessible on foot or on horseback…
0.59 MILES
Near Anakena, this beach offers seclusion for wannabe Robinson Crusoes but is considered dangerous because of falling rocks.
1.64 MILES
Beside Bahía La Pérouse, a nearly 10m-long moai lies facedown with its neck broken; it's the largest moai moved from Rano Raraku and erected on an ahu. A…
2.17 MILES
About 100m off the coastal road (look for the sign), you'll find a couple of massive basaltic slabs decorated with carvings featuring a tuna, a shark, an…
3.68 MILES
Maunga Terevaka is the island's highest point (507m) and the youngest of its three volcanoes. This barren hill is only accessible on foot or on horseback…
4.03 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…
4.18 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…
4.61 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…
5.24 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…