Easter Island 2 Day Private Tour of Moai and Rapa Nui Highlights

Begin your journey at Anakena, where Rapa Nui oral tradition places the arrival of King Hotu Matu’a and the first Polynesian settlers. Walk along the white-sand beach and discover Ahu Nau Nau, with its beautifully preserved moai, and Ahu Ature Huki. Here, your guide will introduce the origins of Rapa Nui culture and the beginning of the island’s remarkable story.

Discover Te Pito Kura, home to Paro, the largest moai ever successfully transported and raised on an ahu. Although now fallen, its enormous size reveals the extraordinary ambition and engineering skills of the Rapa Nui people. Nearby, see Te Pito o Te Henua, a distinctive rounded stone surrounded by local traditions.

Visit Puna Pau, the small volcanic crater where the Rapa Nui carved the red scoria pukao placed on top of many moai. Walk through the quarry and see unfinished pukao still resting along the slopes while learning how these massive stone pieces were carved, transported, and raised onto the statues.

Meet the seven restored moai of Ahu Akivi, one of Rapa Nui’s most distinctive ceremonial platforms. Unlike most moai, which face inland toward their ancestral communities, these seven appear to gaze toward the ocean. Discover the stories associated with the monument and its place within the island’s cultural landscape.

Reach the spectacular Rano Kau volcano and look across its vast crater, now filled with a freshwater wetland. From the rim, take in one of Rapa Nui’s most dramatic landscapes while learning how this extraordinary natural setting became connected to the island’s later ceremonial traditions.

End the journey at Orongo, the ceremonial village dramatically perched between the crater of Rano Kau and the Pacific Ocean. Explore its stone houses and learn about the Tangata Manu, or Birdman, competition that marked a new chapter in Rapa Nui society. Look toward Motu Nui, the offshore islet at the heart of this remarkable tradition.

Begin the day at Vinapu, where massive stone blocks were shaped and fitted together with remarkable precision. Explore its ceremonial platforms and discover a different expression of Rapa Nui engineering, setting the stage for a day dedicated to understanding the people, techniques, and traditions behind the island’s monumental stone culture.

Continue along the south coast to Vaihu, where fallen moai remain exactly where they came down centuries ago. Explore the large ceremonial complex and its unrestored remains while your guide explains the changes and conflicts that eventually brought the era of standing moai to an end.

Explore Akahanga, an extensive archaeological complex with the remains of ancient houses, earth ovens and a large ceremonial platform with fallen moai. According to oral tradition, this area is also associated with the burial of Hotu Matu’a, the founding king of Rapa Nui.

Enter the legendary quarry where nearly all of Rapa Nui’s moai were carved. Walk among dozens of statues standing along the volcanic slopes and discover unfinished giants still connected to the bedrock. Learn how the moai were carved and hear the theories and traditions surrounding how these enormous figures were transported across the island.

Finish at spectacular Ahu Tongariki, the largest restored ceremonial platform on Rapa Nui. Stand before its iconic line of 15 moai and learn about the history of the site, its destruction by a tsunami, and its remarkable restoration. With Rano Raraku rising in the background, it is a powerful finale to your journey through the world of the moai.