2019 Easter Island Extension

Private transfer from the airport in Easter Island to the hotel.
Entrance Fee Rapa Nui National Park

Hotel Taha Tai in Easter Island
Bungalow for 3 night(s) with breakfast

OR

Hangaroa Eco Village & Spa in Easter Island
Kainga Standard Room for 3 night(s) with breakfast

This morning, enjoy a private half day excursion Rano Kau and Orongo. During this half day excursion, you will discover Orongo – the ceremonial site for the Birdman Cult – whose stone houses are set right by the circular crater of the Rano Kau volcano. The Birdman Cult only emerged after the collapse of Moai Culture, and was focused on fertility rites and the Birdman competition.
After a short drive you will reach the rim of the crater and will be able to savour a spectacular view overlooking the crater’s large lake, as well as the sea and the town of Hanga Roa. From another viewpoint you can see the three Motu Islands. These small islands were the focus of the young men chosen during the ceremony of the Birdman Cult, held at Orongo. One individual per clan swam out to the Motus, to climb and steal the first swallow’s egg of the year. The winning clan was allowed to nominate Rapa Nui’s king for the following year.
The tour ends with a transfer to your hotel.

In the afternoon, we will have a private half day excursion to Ahu Akivi, Puna Pau, Sebastian Englert Museum and Ahu Tahai. The excursion starts with a visit to Ahu Akivi, which is one of the few ahus not located by the sea. Its seven resurrected moais are sited according to the equinox, which indicates the advanced knowledge of astronomy once known on Rapa Nui. Afterwards you will continue to the Puna Pau quarry, where the headdresses made of red stone that were set on many moai were produced.
Your next stop is the Sebastian Englert museum in Hanga Roa, where you’ll learn about the archaeology and anthropology of the island. The final highlight will be Ahu Tahai (“where the sun hides”), located north of Hanga Roa on the Coast, where you will see three restored ahus. The moais here look over the island and have their back turned to the sea. One of them is Ko Te Riku, the only moai with eyes made of white coral and black obsidian..

Return to our hotel and overnight.

After breakfast, we will depart for a full day excursion to Ahu Akahanga, Rano Raraku and Anakena. This tour goes in search of the secrets of Rapa Nui’s culture, and begins with a visit to the cave dwellings and moai platforms of Akahanga, on the southern coast of the island. The platforms have been left untouched, with their moai still lying on the ground where they fell, during the destruction of the island’s ceremonial sites. Over time, the statues’ ahus – ceremonial platforms where the moai were originally placed – have become overgrown with grass.
The ceremonial centre Ahu Tongariki, your next stop, is the largest, and perhaps most beautiful, of the island’s ahus. 15 resurrected moai throne on their platform, overlooking the island with their backs to the Pacific Ocean.
Afterwards, the tour continues to Rano Raraku, an extinct volcano of trass stone. This is perhaps the most intriguing sight on the island, because it is the quarry where the moais were cut from the rocks. The giant sculptures lie scattered all over the volcano’s hillsides, ready for a transportation that never took place. Higher up, even more moais can be found in various stages of completion, some still connected to the rock, as if they were abandoned from one day to the next.
From here, you drive north, to Te Pito o te Henua (known as ‘The Red Navel’ or ‘Navel of the World’): a large smooth round stone, supposedly with magical powers. According to legend, King Hotu Matua himself brought this stone here, during the earliest occupation of Easter Island.
Last stop on the itinerary of this exciting day is the beach at Anakena, where King Hotu Matua made land, accompanied by the first Polynesian settlers. You can visit two restored ahus called Nau Nau und Ature Huke The fine white sand is a good place to relax and take a refreshing swim in the Pacific, before being taken back to your hotel. Overnight at our hotel in Easter Island.

Private transfer from the hotel to the airport in Easter Island for your flight back to Santiago. End of our services.