RAPA NUI,

better known as "Easter island"

- which is the name given to it by the first European who sighted it, the Dutch admiral Jakob Roggeveen -

is a volcanic island in the Pacific Ocean, 3700 km west of South America,


JM near the ahu of Anakena beach, the Ahu Naunau

All visitors to the island are struck by the huge statues or "Moai" (there are nearly 900 of them) scattered all around the island

JM near Ahu Nau Nau, near Anakena beach

Some are on some kind of altars, locally known as "Ahu", wearing a sort of hat or headdress made in a red volcanic stone...

on the slopes of the Rano Raraku

while others, 397 of them in total, all without "hat", are still in and around the Rano Raraku volcano, the quarry where all of these statues were sculpted.

inside the Rano Raraku

Those raised on the slopes of the volcano, still waiting to be transported to Ahu around the island, ...

JM on the slopes of the Rano Raraku

... are now all more or less covered by the erosion from above which prevents us to appreciate fully their size.

((BTW, like the Egyptian pyramids, these statues were erected by men in the nude but, as you may have noticed, there are not much people around nowadays...)

To continue the visit of the island, click HERE

Back to entrance: click HERE