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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nAhu Nau Nau and the Best-Preserved Moai on Easter Island<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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 bay on both sides, there are three terraces resembling temples built with enormous blocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the centre of the beach area is the magnificent Ahu Nau Nau, about 70 metres (230 feet) long, which has between 10 and 12 Moai associated with it. The ends of the platform are slightly elevated so that it looks like a ship. It was restored by Sergio Rapu between 1978 and 1980. Its present five Moai are the best preserved of all those still on the Island due to having spent a long time buried in the sand. They represent deceased young men of royal lineage. During the excavations, several pavements of older Ahu were uncovered, as well as remains of residences, an extraordinary eye from a statue made of white coral with a pupil of red scoria, and the body of a rare female Moai. Both the eye and the female Moai are on exhibit at the P. S. Englert Anthropological Museum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the eastern side of the bay, there is another platform with a single Moai \u2014 Ahu Ature Huki. This Moai was the first to be re-erected on its Ahu on the Island in the 20th Century. In October of 1955, Pedro At\u00e1n-Pakomio and eleven other Rapanui Islanders, in the presence of the Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl and his accompanying archaeologists, accomplished the feat of raising the Moai using only wooden levers and poles and large stones. This event marked the beginning of a new era for Rapa Nui archaeology and demonstrated for the first time, scientifically, that the moai had always faced inland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This demonstration definitively debunked the myth of the moai looking at the sea<\/a>. Ahu Ature Huki at Anakena is the physical evidence of that historic correction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the far left of the beach there is a third platform, the Ahu Niho Pou, without statues and almost covered by sand. One of the stone blocks of its facade reproduces a typical symbol of the Rongo Rongo script (talking tablets) which according to tradition once existed at Anakena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Rongo Rongo tablets are one of the great mysteries of Rapa Nui \u2014 a unique writing system whose decipherment remains incomplete. Their presence at Ahu Niho Pou suggests that Anakena was far more than a landing beach: it was a ceremonial and cultural centre of the highest importance from the earliest days of colonisation. To learn more about the cosmovision that generated these symbols, see the gods of Polynesia and Rapanui mythology<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anakena is located in the north of the island, about 22 km (14 miles) from Hanga Roa via the road crossing the interior. It can be reached by private vehicle (car, quad bike or motorbike), on an organised tour, or by the public bus from Hanga Roa. The beach is the only white-sand beach on the island and has basic services: toilets, showers, picnic areas and food stalls. Access to the beach is free, though the Rapa Nui National Park requires the Ma’u Henua pass for the archaeological sites in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is recommended to visit Anakena in the morning to avoid the afternoon wind. On weekends and holidays the beach is a favourite gathering place for local families and becomes the liveliest spot on the island outside Hanga Roa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anakena is the most sacred site in Rapanui history: according to oral tradition, this is where the founding king Hotu Matu’a landed. It holds the Ahu Nau Nau with the five best-preserved moai on the island, the Ahu Ature Huki where the first archaeological restoration took place in 1955, and the Ahu Niho Pou with a block bearing a Rongo Rongo symbol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The five moai of Ahu Nau Nau were buried under the sand for centuries, protecting them from the wind and rain erosion that damaged most other moai on the island. When excavated and restored between 1978 and 1980, they retained details such as eyes and facial features that are invisible on other moai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anakena has three ahu: the Ahu Nau Nau with five restored moai (including their coral eyes and pukao headdresses), the Ahu Ature Huki with one moai (the first re-erected in the 20th century), and the Ahu Niho Pou (no moai, nearly covered by sand, with a Rongo Rongo symbol block). The beach is also the only white-sand beach on Rapa Nui.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anakena is about 22 km (14 miles) from Hanga Roa. It can be reached by private vehicle, organised tour or the public bus from Hanga Roa. The road is paved and signposted, taking approximately 30-40 minutes by car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/moevarua.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/restos-de-moai-con-ojo-1024x754.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nAhu Ature Huki: The First Archaeological Restoration on Easter Island<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Ahu Niho Pou and the Rongo Rongo Symbol<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How to Visit Anakena<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nFrequently Asked Questions about Anakena<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Why is Anakena important on Easter Island?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Why are the Anakena moai so well preserved?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What can you see at Anakena?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How do you get to Anakena from Hanga Roa?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n