Easter Island, Chile
Easter Island, Chile
Description
View cruises with Easter Island, ChileThe monoliths of Easter Island have fascinated and puzzled Westerners since the Dutch seaman Roggeven made landfall there on Easter Sunday, 1722. The mystery of Easter Island's first settlers remains just that - a mystery. Today, most anthropologists believe the island was settled as part of the great wave of Polynesian emigration. (The oldest of the Moai, as the great monoliths are called, date to 700 A.D.) The society that produced the Moai flourished during the 16th and 17th centuries, but population growth, deforestation and food shortages led to its collapse. Today some 3,400 souls inhabit this 64-square-mile island, which lies some 2,200 miles equidistant from Tahiti and South America.
The society of Rapa Nui possessed stone-working skills on a par with those found in the Inca Empire. Islanders also possessed a script called Rongorongo, the only written language in all of Oceania.
Please note: The current fee for entry into the National Park is $80 per person, this fee is included in all organized shore tours. Independent passengers are required to pay this fee on arrival at the park.
Easter Island is an anchorage port. Transportation from the ship to shore will be via the ship's tender service.
Points of Interest
- Orongo Village
- Ahu Tahai
- Ahu Akivi
- Rano Raraku
- Rano Kau
- Vinapu
- Terevaka Mount
More about Easter Island, Chile Points of Interest
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Orongo Village -
Set on the edge of an extinct volcano, Orongo was the 16th century ceremonial site of the birdman cult. Today, the area is covered with petroglyphs carved with mythical bird-man creatures.
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Ahu Tahai -
Some of the earliest moai structures can be found in this desolate spot. Believed to date to 690 A.D., these gigantic monoliths are one of the most photographed and easily recognizable icons on the island.
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Ahu Akivi -
Unlike other moai sites around the island, the seven moai located here sit nine miles inland. Believed to represent seven young explorers, the statues are also the only ones facing the ocean.
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Rano Raraku -
The island's 900 moai were created in this volcanic quarry. Here, you'll find over 390 eyeless statues laying on the ground or half-buried in the crater wall. Nearby is the unusual "kneeling" moai.
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Rano Kau -
The lake of the 1,000-foot tall extinct volcano is one of the island's only three natural bodies of fresh water. A natural site of immense beauty, the views from the top are phenomenal.
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Vinapu -
A mysterious site that has led many experts to believe that the ruins of a monument and the precise stonework of an ancient wall found here are actually the work of South America's Incas.
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Terevaka Mount -
On Easter Island, there are three main volcanoes. Ma'unga Terevaka is the highest elevation, and its altitude is 512 meters above sea level. Dominating the center of the island, it boasts intense panoramic vistas set off by the deep blue Pacific Ocean gleaming on the horizon