The World’s Most Extensive Cave Network
Hetereki Huke & Tiare Aguilera
Three kilometers northwest of Hanga Roa lies the Roiho sector, whose 423 hectares form part of Rapa Nui National Park. We cannot talk about Roiho without first mentioning the geological attractions of the area. This area was the site of the last volcanic eruptions that gave Rapa Nui its characteristic triangular shape. Maunga Terevaka and its secondary cones, such as Maunga Roiho, Maunga Hiva Hiva, and Maunga Vaka Kipo, unified the island territory formed by previous eruptions in Poike and Rano Kau. As a result, Roiho has become a place with the most extensive cave network in the world, with more than 200 caves shrouded in legends and mysteries recorded to date.
These caves were widely used in prehistoric times for housing, ceremonies, burials, as shelters, or as reservoirs for flora, fauna, and fresh water. Some of them are considered Tapu (traditional system of prohibition) and are kept secret. Many legends of the Rapanui people are associated with specific places within the Roiho sector. In this area, we can see a greater density of archaeological sites, many of which are open to tourists, including Ahu Vai Teka, Ana Tepahu, Ahu Tepeu, Ana Tepora, Ana Kakenga, and Ahu Kihi Kihi Rau Mea, among many others.
Because it has the newest soil on Rapa Nui (around 2,000 years old), Roiho has a very different landscape from the rest of the island, which is characterized by a much rockier surface. Despite not having fertile soil suitable for agriculture, this environment, rich in water resources, has been home to human life since very early times. Here, life took on new forms, adapting and developing in a unique way; agricultural systems based on rocks appeared, such as the Stone Gardens and the Manavai. On the perimeter of the Roiho sector are the fertile slopes of Maunga Terevaka, the coast with its marine resources, and the hills with their small interstitial valleys, making this sector perhaps one of the most diverse and richest on the entire island.
In historical times, the Chilean government’s neglect turned the island into a sheep ranch that had around 70,000 head of livestock by the late 19th and mid-20th centuries, with the resulting soil degradation. It also led to the destruction or alteration of countless archaeological sites, which were dismantled and used as a source of material for the construction of stone walls, ponds, and houses. In Roiho, traces of livestock farming and the use of archaeological elements for such purposes can still be seen in the form of stone walls, drinking troughs, and ponds from the time of the company. The caves and their underground pools were where many families obtained their water before Hanga Roa had a drinking water network.
Talking about Roiho also means mentioning leprosy, a disease that arrived on the island at the end of the 19th century from Tahiti or Peru, according to some theories, with Rapa Nui being the only Chilean territory affected by this disease. The buildings of the leprosarium and its cemetery, located in the area, bear witness to a period in the island’s history that is part of the collective memory of its people. In 2005, the Honga’a o te Mana Educational Village High School was built there, offering a choice of scientific-humanistic and technical-professional education.
Roiho is currently one of the most attractive trekking circuits on Rapa Nui, offering a wealth of scenic, geological, cultural, and archaeological attractions. To protect and preserve this heritage area, park ranger stations have been installed at the entrances to the area to guide tourists and control vehicle traffic in order to protect the caves in the area. The next stages of the “Lavas de Hiva Hiva Conservation Project” in Roiho, carried out by Keho Studio from 2015 to 2017, will focus on the protection and implementation of specific sites and an interpretive center for the area.
