Private 2-Day Easter Island Tour: Origins and Makers

What's Included

Meeting and pickup

Itinerary

Day 1
Origins
7 stops
1
Anakena Beach
On the north coast, this white-sand beach is where tradition says the first settlers landed. Behind it stand the moai of Ahu Nau Nau, some still wearing their red topknots. The sand protected them for centuries, so their carved details are unusually well preserved.
40 minutes • Admission ticket not included
2
Ahu Te Pito Kura
A quiet platform by the sea on the north coast. The giant moai lying here is the largest ever moved to a platform on the island, and a smooth round stone nearby is known as the navel of the world. It is a peaceful place to understand how much effort went into raising these statues.
25 minutes • Admission ticket not included
3
Puna Pau
A small volcanic crater of red stone, where the topknots (pukao) were carved. Several lie scattered across the slope, some finished and some left behind, and the view over the island from here is wide and open.
30 minutes • Admission ticket not included
4
Ahu Akivi
Seven moai stand inland and face the sea, unlike almost all others on the island, which look inland over the villages. Tradition links them to seven explorers sent ahead to find the island, and the site is said to be aligned with the equinox sunset.
30 minutes • Admission ticket not included
5
Ahu Tahai
A ceremonial complex on the edge of Hanga Roa with three platforms, restored in the 1960s and 70s. Here stands the moai with restored eyes, which shows how all the statues once looked and gives a feeling of being watched. It is a favourite place for the evening light.
35 minutes • Admission ticket not included
6
Rano Kau
A giant volcanic crater more than a kilometre wide, with a freshwater lake covered in floating reeds, and the ocean just beyond the rim. The view from the edge is one of the most photographed on the island.
30 minutes • Admission ticket not included
7
Orongo
A ceremonial village high on the rim of Rano Kau, with stone houses built low into the ground. Here young men competed in the Birdman race to bring back the first sooty tern egg from the islet below. The rocks around the village are covered in carved birdmen.
45 minutes • Admission ticket not included
Day 2
Makers
5 stops
8
Ahu Vinapu
On the south coast, near the end of the airport runway. The wall of this platform is built of large stones fitted together so closely that it is known for its precision. Some visitors compare it to stonework in South America.
30 minutes • Admission ticket not included
9
Ahu Vaihu
Several large moai lie face down in front of their platform, with their red topknots on the ground beside them. Standing among the fallen giants beside a small cove is one of the most striking sights on the south coast.
30 minutes • Admission ticket not included
10
Ahu Akahanga
A large ceremonial site by the sea on the south coast. Fallen moai lie near the platform, and the remains of nearby house foundations show how a village was arranged around its ceremonial centre. Tradition links this place to Hotu Matu’a, the island’s first king.
35 minutes • Admission ticket not included
11
Rano Raraku
The quarry where almost 400 moai were carved from the volcano’s soft rock. You can see them at every stage, from first outlines in the stone to finished statues, as well as the largest moai ever begun, which was never freed from the rock. A crater lake sits above the slopes.
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission ticket not included
12
Ahu Tongariki
The largest platform on the island, with fifteen restored moai standing in a row with the sea behind them. A tsunami scattered them in 1960 and they were raised again in the 1990s. It is the classic place to end the tour, and the one most guests remember best.
50 minutes • Admission ticket not included

Additional info

• Suitable for all physical fitness levels

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