CLASSIC EASTER ISLAND (4D-3N)

Arrive at Mataveri Airport, welcome and transfer to your hotel (check-in at 15:00). Free afternoon to visit the town of Hanga Roa.

Breakfast. At 8:30 approx pick up for a full-day excursion to Easter Island or Rapa Nui, as the local people prefer. The first stop will be on the south coast, where you will visit the ruins of the temple of Vaihu, a platform next to the attractive fishing bay of Hanga Te’é that holds 8 moai, each with its red headdress; the moai now lie face down, just as they stood when they were knocked down. Next, you will meet Ahu Akahanga, an archaeological site with remains of platforms where, according to oral traditions, the first king of the island Hotu Matua was buried. After that, we will go to the Rano Raraku Volcano, also known as the quarry, or the “factory of the moai”, here you can see almost 400 statues in different stages of carving, with different characteristics and states of conservation. From here, we will visit Ahu Tongariki, the most extensive platform and with the largest amount of restored moai on the whole island, one of the unmissable postcards of your trip to the navel of the world. Next, we will move to Te Pito Kura, where you will find a rock with magnetic properties that would have been brought by the first King from Hiva, the mythical Polynesian island from which the first settlers came and are therefore full of mana (energy), near there is also the Paro moai, the largest moai ever transported from Rano Raraku and erected on a platform, it measures 10 meters (32.8 feet) and weighs 70 tons approx. And last but not least visit the beach of Anakena a paradisiacal beach with white and fine coral sand and crystalline turquoise sea, near the beach you will meet the Ahu Ature Huki which is the first moai statue raised on the island in modern times and the Ahu Nau Nau an imposing platform with seven moais, is one of the island’s best-preserved platforms. Once finished the tour we will return to the Hotel.

Breakfast. At 9:00 approx, pick for an excursion to Orongo. We will drive up the extinct Rano Kau, the largest volcano, from where you will appreciate one of the most majestic views of the whole island. Afterwards, we will go to the ceremonial village of Orongo, where the birdman competition took place and you can see the spectacular petroglyphs related to this culture and enjoy the breathtaking view of the 3 islets Motu Nui, Motu Iti and Motu Kao Kao opposite the coast. We continue our journey towards the sector of Vinapu where you can appreciate the development of carving techniques for the construction of platforms on Easter Island. In the last stop, we will visit the cave of Ana Kai Tangata, where you will appreciate the wall of the cave bottom, which reveals the remains of several paintings of native birds. The figures are painted with natural pigments of earth and animal fat, which in theory made them much more durable. Return to hotel.

At 15:00 approx, pick up for an excursion to Akivi. After hotel pickup travels south with your guide into the park to visit the Tahai with its three ahu or ceremonial platforms located on the small rocky cliff that rises above the sea. The altars form a visual line that stars in this magnificent setting. If you look straight at the platforms, the first group on the left with five restored moai are a sample of the different styles is the Ahu Vai Uri, the next one is the Ahu Tahai, a single solitary moai about 4.5 meters high (14.7 feet) raised on the oldest platform of the complex built around 700 AD. And the last one, the Ahu Ko Te Riku, is a single statue wearing a pukao or headdress, this is the only moai that has eyes of the whole island. After that we will continue to Ahu Akivi the most important and elaborate platform, it has seven moai that it is said, are the only statues that look at the sea of the whole island, since the rest turns their back on the ocean. The last stop before return to the Hotel is Puna Pau volcano where the red pukao, or headdress, were extracted and carved.

Breakfast and check out. Transfer to Mataveri Airport.