The birth of the Moai Guided and private full day excursion Easter Island-

The birth of the Moai Guided and private full day excursion Easter Island-

It is one of the most recommended excursions to do on the island, mainly as it runs through several of the main attractions such as Rano Raraku and Ahu Tongariki, ending with a relaxing time on the most beautiful beach in Rapa Nui. The route is quite accessible for all types of people and with different conditions. Our private excursion service also includes hydration and we adapt to the needs of the client.

Venture to a journey with a lot of history and archeology with a specialized guide and attentive to the needs of each of our visitors.

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Stop At: Ahu Vaihu, Coastal Road, Hanga Roa, Easter Island Chile

We will skirt the coast, towards the ruins of the temple of Vaihu. Before entering this site, we will visit the interpretive center Puku Manu Mea, a replica of an ancestral village that will show us structures of different types and how they were conformed in antiquity. A practical way to understand the architecture and ancestral organization. Entering the site of Vaihu, the platform of 8 moai that is next to the attractive fishing bay of Hanga Te'e. The moai now lie face down, just as they were when they were knocked down, while the headdresses, which are cylindrical, rolled a little farther. A place where you can understand how the ahu were left after the decline and destruction of ancient culture.

Duration: 25 minutes

Stop At: Ahu Akahanga, Hanga Roa, Easter Island Chile

The Ahu Akahanga can be considered, for its history and for the number of statues, one of the most important of Easter Island.

At the entrance to the site, after crossing the wall, there are the stone foundations of several hare paenga or houseboats, named for its elliptical shape reminiscent of a ship, where the old inhabitants lived. In front of the access of each house, there is a small area paved with round marine ridges (poro nui), which form a small square. Next to the houses, there are several umu pae or old stone kilns.

A few meters away is a small cave, called Ana Akahanga whose entrance is reinforced with an addition of stones. The cavity, which is of the Karava type due to its width and shallow depth, was used as a temporary shelter, mainly by fishermen, to shelter from the rain or spend the night.

The Ahu Akahanga, this great platform of 18 meters in length has not been restored, which allows to get an idea of the state in which all the ahu were, in the epoch of decadence of the island.

On most destroyed platforms, the statues lie face down, with their faces hidden and their backs turned. However, in Ahu Akahanga, the 13 moai, which are between 5 and 7 meters in size, are knocked down both on their backs and upside down. This allows you to better observe its features and its invoice. It is impressive to contemplate these stone giants in such a vulnerable position, when once they stood proudly on their pedestal.

In front of the platform, appear several of the pukao or headdresses of volcanic red scoria that topped the statues. To the right, very close to the shore, there is a moai fallen forward that does not have carved eyes, but has preserved the features of erosion very well.

In the back of the ahu, there is a crematorium and a rustic ramp to disembark canoes. Here you can have a close view of the faces of the statues that fell on their backs. It also highlights a small moai of about 2 meters that lies on its back inside a circle of stones. Its rustic carving and its advanced state of erosion suggest that it is one of the first statues that were carved in Rano Raraku.

According to oral tradition, the first king of the island, the legendary ariki Hotu Matu'a was buried in this place. His sons moved him from the summit of the Rano Kau volcano, where he had his final resting place, to Akahanga.

Duration: 30 minutes

Stop At: Rano Raraku, Easter Island Chile

The Rano Raraku volcano is one of the most incredible and extraordinary archaeological sites on the planet. In this magical place full of mystery, the moai were made, the giant statues that have made Easter Island famous worldwide. The enormous figures and the quarries of the volcano surpass any expectation and get the traveler to be speechless when he contemplates one of the most fascinating wonders of humanity.

Rano Raraku became the quarry where almost all of the 1,000 statues that have been found on Easter Island were sculpted. Here the moai were carved and then they were taken to the ahu or ceremonial platforms, distributed along the entire coast, to honor the memory of the ancestors.

In this place there are 397 moai in different stages of construction. A ten minute walk along a path takes you straight to the crater of this magnificent volcano. You will see about 70 moai standing (half-buried) on the upper slopes. It is absolutely forbidden to walk outside the trails and climb to the highest point, which can also be extremely dangerous.

Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Ahu Tongariki, Easter Island Chile

Ahu Tongariki is the largest ceremonial structure built on Easter Island and the most important megalithic monument in all of Polynesia. It represents the zenith of the sacred constructions called ahu-moai that were developed in Rapa Nui for more than 500 years.

The central platform, whose axis is oriented to the rising sun of the summer solstice, measures almost 100 meters long and with its wings or original lateral extensions reached a total length of 200 meters. During the last final phase of construction of the ceremonial altar, Ahu Tongariki held 15 moai, which made it the platform with the largest number of images of the whole island.

Unfortunately, as was the case with the rest of the island's ceremonial platforms, the moai were knocked down from the ahu during the violent episodes that took place between the different island clans at the time of the decadence of the Rapanui culture. It is believed that this period began after 1500 AD. reaching its peak at the end of the seventeenth century.

It is not known with certainty when the statues of the Ahu Tongariki were demolished, but according to the testimonies of the first European navigators who arrived at the island, it seems that these were no longer standing when they arrived at the beginning of the XVIII century. However, the place continued to be used as a cemetery until the conversion of the population to Catholicism in the second half of the 19th century.

Duration: 20 minutes

Stop At: Papa Vaka, Camino Vaitea Anakena, Easter Island Chile

Papa Vaka is an archaeological site located on the north road of the island, between Ahu Te Pito Kura and Pu o Hiro. It is characterized by the large number of petroglyphs (incisions in rock) that are extended by large slabs of basaltic origin that emerge from ground level.

The marine figures of Papa Vaka exemplify the rock art of the northern cost of Rapa Nui, which shows the concern of the inhabitants of these territories for the dominance of the sea. All the bas-reliefs are related to the immense ocean that surrounds the island. There are diverse marine creatures, as well as vaka (canoes) and mangai (hooks), fundamental tools in ancient times for the control of marine resources.

To see them clearly it is important to visit the place in the early morning or at dusk, when the light allows us to better appreciate the figures. There are several elevated platforms near each rock that facilitate the visitor to observe the figures from a more appropriate perspective and explanatory posters that help identify some of the drawings.

Duration: 15 minutes

Stop At: Ahu Te Pito Kura, Easter Island Chile

Te Pito Kura is an archaeological complex located in front of La Perouse Bay, about two kilometers southeast of Ovahe beach. In this ceremonial center is the Ahu or Paro, whose only moai named Paro, remains in the same position it was when it was demolished almost two centuries ago.

The Paro moai represents a milestone from the time when the statues were built, since it is the largest moai transported from the quarry of the Rano Raraku volcano and successfully erected on an ahu. Its dimensions are spectacular: its ears measure 2 meters, its height reaches 10 meters and it is estimated that its weight must exceed 80 tons.

The moai lies face down and his body is split in half as a result of its collapse. In front of his head lies his gigantic pukao, almost 2 meters high and weighing 10 tons, also considered one of the most voluminous headdresses carved and moved from the quarry of Puna Pau.

Tradition has it that it was a widow who commissioned the construction of this moai, in memory of her late husband. It seems that the Paro moai would have been one of the last statues to be demolished from his ahu. It is believed that it happened shortly after 1838, since after this date there are no records of navigators seeing a standing moai.

Next to the ahu, a few meters away, is a large ovoid-shaped stone 80 centimeters in diameter. The expression Te Pito Kura means "navel of light" and there are those who relate the name of the place with the special qualities of this rock and with one of the names with which Easter Island is known, Te Pito O Te Henua which means "navel of the world".

This unique stone was formerly known as Tita'a hanga 'o te henua, and according to legend, it was brought by Hotu Matu'a, the founding king of the Rapanui people, on his boat from Hiva, his homeland. It is said that this rock, almost spherical and smooth, concentrates a magnetic and supernatural energy called mana.

Because of its high iron content, this stone heats up more than others and causes the compasses to behave strangely. Many visitors put their hands on it to capture its energy or also, according to the belief of some, increase female fertility. It seems that some tourists, too believers in their power, performed some obscene act on the stone and since then decided to close the circle of stones that surrounds it.

Very close to here, next to Hanga Ho Onu, is the Ahu Heiki'i, oriented according to certain stars, and which contains among its vestiges three pukao. It is the largest ahu on the island, it stands out for its size and its impressive appearance and has beautiful petroglyphs. In this area there are several hare paenga (boat houses), umu pae (ovens for cooking) and a pipi horeko (stone landmark) that was used to demarcate the place.

Duration: 25 minutes

Stop At: Anakena Beach, Easter Island Chile

Anakena, which is the main beach on Easter Island, represents the typical picture we all have when we think of a paradisiacal beach. Its white and fine coral sand, the crystal clear turquoise sea, its calm waves and the coconut palms (brought from Tahiti several decades ago) make it an ideal place for rest and leisure.

Anakena beach invites to bathe at any time of the year, as the water temperature remains at an average of a pleasant 20ºC, with small variations in summer and winter.

Anakena is still a pretty virgin beach, with few bathers, especially during the morning (organized tours usually arrive in the afternoon) or in low season, which allows, sometimes, to enjoy alone this small, remote and beautiful paradise .

Duration: 1 hour