Duration: | 5 Day(s) - 4 Night(s) |
Tour Category: | Nature Tours |
Day 1: SANTIAGO – EASTER ISLAND
Arrive at Hanga Roa airport and local welcome with a flower necklace. Afterward, clients will be transferred to their Hotel, close to the village of Hanga Roa, near all the most important services. Lodging at Hotel in Rapa Nui.
Day 2: FULL DAY ANAKENA
After breakfast, we’ll start the full-day tour enjoying a great day. Recommendations: bring water and clothes for swimming in Anakena beach; ask for towels at the hotel. Places to visit: Anakena beach where we are going to have a picnic lunch enjoying the wonderful beach, Vaihu Ahu in the Hanga Tee south coast, Ahu Akahanga, Rano Raraku, Ahu Tongariki, Ahu Te Pito Kura, Ahu Nau Nau, and Ahu Ature Huki.
The Rano Raraku volcano is made up of gray-ochre volcanic tufa and stands at 100 meters above sea level. It is oval, and on its peak lays a crater with a lake that is 50 meters deep. It is one of the island’s major and most valuable archaeological sites.
It has an open quarry that was used for carving the Moai. There are over 400 monuments that were in the process of being carved spread throughout their interior and exterior slopes to various degrees of complexion. Several differences may be observed among them such as TUKUTURI, and the kneeling Moai.
Another Moai stands out because of the three-masted sailboat carved on his chest. Towards the west, Moai in the process of being moved lies scattered along the so-called “The path of the Moai”.
Ahu Akahanga: This Ahu or platform measures 81 meters in length and 3.25 meters wide. Its historical importance is that it was the burial place of King Hotu Matu’a. The platform is decorated with red stones throughout its length and with petroglyphs that have been eroded by time, but which are still.
Te Pito Kura: This Ahu has the largest Moai transported from the Rano Raraku quarry. It measures 11 meters high and weighs approximately 80 tons. It is located approximately 26 km northeast of Hanga Roa.
Ahu Vaihu: A semi-destroyed temple. The islanders destroyed its eight large statues in times gone by.
Anakena Beach: Located in the north with clean and warm turquoise waters, Anakena is the island’s main beach. For many years, its coral sand beds and great luminosity were for the exclusive use of important people and governors. It was a population and politically organized center, and the Polynesian expeditions about the Airiki Hotu Matu’a, the island’s first king, disembarked at Anakena some 1,500 years ago.
The Ahu or Moai platforms in this sector had been completely restored. Less than 1 km toward the Poike, is another sandy beach. Ovahe is a small beach of volcanic origins located underneath a cliff. Its golden sand is the result of a combination of red coral and white sand, an ideal beach for sunbathing and swimming. Return at the end of the day to the hotel. (B) (BL).
Day 3: HALF-DAY VISITING AHU AKIVI AND TAHAI AREA
Tahai Ahu: Set of ceremonial altars that constitute the most well-renovated archeological site on the island. Located close to the city, it is composed of three Ahu (platforms on which the Moai were erected), known as the Ahu Kote Riku to the north, which had its eye attached by the Council of Elders, made of white coral and pupil of obsidian, the Ahu Tahai at the center and the Ahu Vai Uri with five Moais at the south. Located at the same place are the remains of a hare Peanga boathouse.
A Hare Maoa with thick stone walls, which was used as a chicken house, and a Paina ceremonial site. There is also an earth oven dug into the ground and delineated by stones, as well as other elements, such as a cave with a great stone wall and eight entry tunnels. The archeologist William Molloy, who led the restoration works in 1978, is buried on one side of the Ahu Riku Moai.
Ahu Akivi: Dating back to 1500 AD, this is the first Ahu that was scientifically restored on the island in 1960 by William Mulloy and Gonzalo Figueroa. The 7-moai platform faces the equinoctial rising sun. According to recent folklore, it allegedly represents the seven young explorers sent from Hiva by Haumaka’s spirit to do reconnaissance on the island before Hotu Mantu’a’s arrival. The rest of the day is free. (B)
Day 4 HALF DAY VISITING ORONGO CEREMONIAL
Ceremonial Village of Orongo: One of the Island’s most important places is the ancient ceremonial village of Orongo, southeast of the Rano Kau volcano, where visitors may still see petroglyphs and cave paintings as well as ancient houses and walls from different areas.
The volcano crater measures approximately one and a half kilometers in diameter. Its high walls, measuring 200 meters, constitute a natural reservoir used throughout time by the island’s inhabitants. It conserves an enclosed garden of priceless Polynesian and native species that constitutes an appropriate microclimate for the main preserve of flora on the island.
The ceremonial village was used between 1600 and 1866 AD to worship the birdmen. Orongo village consists of some 53 elliptically shaped houses having shale walls and a small square entry overlooking the ocean.
Arranged into two uneven rows, the lower row ends at MATA NGARAHU, the sacred precinct where the Birdmen used to be worshipped, and the one most profusely decorated with petroglyphs on the island. Volcano Rano Kau: Is the southernmost Volcano of the island. On the west side of the slopes, we have an impressive view of the islets Motu Nui, Motu Iti, and Motu Kao Kao. Next to the Crater is the Ceremonial City of Orongo.
Ahu Vinapu: Used in the 1200 AD, it includes three Ahu. The first, called Ahu TAHIRI, is worth noting on account of its perfect stonewall, superficially compared with those in Cuzco and Machu Picchu. Its six Moai, which used to be colored in red, are down. The second Ahu, the astronomical orientation of which is similar to the first, features an allegedly female Moai that used to have two heads. Only removed stones remain from the third Ahu, the oldest of all. The rest of the day is free. (B).
Day 5: Transfer to the Airport.
Package Tour Includes:
• 05 days & 04 nights of accommodation.
• Reception and farewell with Polynesian lei.
• Round trip transfer to the airport.
• One full-day tour of “Anakena” around the island with lunch
• Two half-day tours: ”Ahu Akivi” and “Orongo Village”
• Dinner Show
• English-speaking guide, SIB ( Seat in Bus, Shared Group Service )Service.
• National park entrance fee is NOT included and has to be paid by the guest upon arrival.
Min 2 People
Prices are per person in USD based on DBL Room