Easter Island Pictures
Rapa Nui Photos

Adventure Life operates a well-informed, good-value 5 day Easter Island Tour

Moai to the max at a typical cloudy Tongariki sunrise on Chile's Rapa Nui [Easter Island or Isla de Pascua in Spanish], December 2005. This, the largest shrine on the island and the work of several centuries, was restored in 1993.

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Not much of an activity centre and a long, expensive trip from the mainland, but Chile's Easter Island [annexed by Chile in 1888] is little developed, has a small Polynesian population and displays some of the world's oddest artifacts in a barren, volcanic landscape along with a bizarre, self-destructive history. This is definitely a must-see if you can afford it.

A view of Rapa Nui's Rano Raraku quarry- seen on the left - where most moai were carved, though the occasional red top hats came from Puna Pau crater in a different location. To the right is one lone moai a hundred metres from the Tongariki set.

Over on the west side of Rapa Nui the 1.5 km wide Rano Kau volcano not only provides support for one third of the explosively upthrust land, but also the rim carries fine remnants of the religion that replaced moai ancestor worship, the bird god Make-Make. Next Easter Island Pictures.

Rapa Nui is triangular, 23km long by 11km wide, and was created by the eruption of three volcanoes. The total area of is 171 sq kms. There are just two sandy beaches.

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