Ahu Renga Karo

Ahu Renga Karo

Ahu Renga Karo On the southern side of the Ana Kai Tangata cavern, before reaching the CONAF (Forestry Department) compound, traces of an ancient Ahu (platform), named by Father Sebastian Englert as Ahu Renga Karo, can be found. Today it is totally in ruins. According...
Ahu Akivi

Ahu Akivi

kivi is a platform with seven Moai (statues) of around 4 meters (13 feet) in height.  It was originally called Ahu Atio Runaru and is thought to have been constructed around 1460.  It was restored in 1960 by the archaeologists William Mulloy (USA) and Gonzalo Figueroa...
Akahanga

Akahanga

The Grave of  Hotu ‘a Matu ‘a ccording to legend, when Hotu Matua, the great mythical first King of Te Pito o Te Henua, died, his subjects made a pallet, placed his body on it and carried him to Akahanga. There they excavated a deep pit and buried him as...
ANAKENA

ANAKENA

The Bay of the Kings Anakena, also called Hanga Ra´u o te Ariki (Bay of the Great Kings), is the place where the two great canoes of the mythical King Hotu Matua and his sister Ava Rei Pua, together with their followers, are supposed to have arrived.  In the head of...
The Underground World of Rapa Nui

The Underground World of Rapa Nui

Underneath a shallow layer of soil over the ancient volcanic rock lies an invisible world full of legends and mystery.  Rapa Nui has volcanic bedrock which is like a giant petrified sponge, full of caves and caverns of many sizes, from simple grottos and narrow...
Orongo

Orongo

The Cult of the Bird-Man Located on the southwestern edge of the immense crater of Rano Kau in front of three small islets where migratory marine birds used to nest in the spring, Orongo has to be one of the most spectacular places on Rapa Nui.  The ceremonial village...