Chile Easter Island - Itinerary
|
|  Click on the image to enlarge the map |
Day 1: Arrival in Santiago If you are combining the Easter Island tour with the mainland Chile tour, we will arrive in Santiago from the Atacama Desert in the evening, and check into the modern airport hotel. At the end of a long day, we'll relax over dinner at the hotel's restaurant. Day 2: Rano Kau, Orongo, Ahu Vinapu, Ana Kai Tangata In the morning, we'll leave Santiago and fly to the far away Easter Island, known as Rapa Nui to the indigenous culture which created the famous, awe-inspiring moai statues. After checking into our Rapa Nui hotel, we'll begin our tour of the island with a drive up the extinct volcano, Rano Kau which affords a view over the entire island, its distinct geological features and the village of Hanga Roa. From there, we will proceed to an outlook with a breathtaking view of Crater Lake before continuing to the ceremonial village of Orongo, where the ancient cult of the birdman competition started. Afterwards, we will drive down to Ahu Vinapu to experience the influence of pre-Inca architects of Easter Island's culture. Our final stop will be the Ana Kai Tangata cave to see the beautiful cave paintings done in red, white, and black. Our evening will conclude with a traditional Umu Ceremony and dinner, which will introduce us to the stories and legends of Easter Island as well as ancestral dances and rituals of the "hombre pájaro," or "birdman" cult. Day 3: South Coast and Anakena Beach Today, we will drive to Easter Island's south coast to visit the most representative examples of unrestored ahu, the ceremonial platforms: Ahu Vaihu in the bay of Hanga Te'e, and Akahanga, where the legendary king Hotu Matua is buried. We'll then continue to Rano Raraku, a quarry containing almost 900 statues, 397 of which are still lying or standing at the slopes of the extinct volcano, the island's most evocative sight. Afterwards, we'll visit Ahu Tongariki, site of the most recent and largest restoration on the island, with 15 re-erected statues. We'll have a scenic picnic lunch on the beautiful beach of Anakena with its restored ahus of Nau Nau and Ature Huke, while enjoying the soul-stirring view of the Pacific Ocean and palm shaded beach. In the afternoon, we'll continue along the island's east coast, stopping to tour the unrestored Ahu Te Pito Kura, the "Navel of the World," before returning to our hotel in the late afternoon. In the evening, we'll relax over dinner at the hotel's elegant restaurant. Day 4: Akivi, Ahu Hanga Poukura, Puna Pau, Tahai After breakfast, we'll continue touring Rapa Nui, visiting the restored Ahu Akivi with its seven famous moais built in the middle of the island, the only statues that face outwards to the sea: according to legend, these statues represent the seven explorers who were sent to Easter Island by the fabled king Hotu Matua, the founder of the original Rapa Nui community. Afterwards, we will proceed to Ahu Hanga Poukura and then visit the topknot-quarry Puna Pau with its red scoria stone, where all of the massive pukao (topknots) for the statues were made. Our last stop will be the ceremonial site of Tahai with three ahus, restored statues, remains of boathouses, and the only moai statue on the entire island that has eyes. In the afternoon, we'll fly back to Santiago, where we will arrive in the evening, so you can connect with your international flight back home.
|