TRAVEL SPECIAL..... WHY YOU NEED TO VISIT EASTER ISLAND

WHY YOU NEED TO VISIT EASTER ISLAND

Plan a trip to Rapa Nui island for its beautiful beaches, epic surfing, world-class diving, and Rapa Nui people who are determined to preserve their Polynesian heritage

Formed 3 million years ago by an underwater volcanic eruption, the island of Rapa Nui is a mere 63-square mile triangular speck deep in the South Pacific -2,237 miles from the coast of its home country, Chile.

Visiting the island, made famous by its mysterious statues known as moai and commonly known by its colonial name Easter Island (after Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen landed on Easter Sunday in 1722) -takes some well rewarded effort. Here's where to go:

Ahu Tongariki

Ahu Tongariki, also known as the Fifteen, is a line of moai on a 720-foot-long ceremonial platform called an ahu. This is the largest collection of statues on the island, each with a different appearance and build, and believed to embody the deified spirits of ancestors.

Rano Raraku Moai

About 400 abandoned moai, in various states of completion, are scattered around the quarry at Rano Raraku.A winding path allows you to walk among the moai, all of which have gigantic bodies that were buried by erosion, giving the impression there are only carved heads.

Hanga Roa

The capital, Hanga Roa, is a fishing port on the southwest coast dotted with colourful boats -and the occasional sea turtle. It's a bustling little place with lodges, bars and restaurants.

Anakena Beach

While most of the island's coastline is rocky, it does have two beautiful beaches: Anakena, on the northern coast, and nearby Ovahe.Anakena offers white coral sands, crystal-clear and calm waters, and a grove of coconut palms. What's not so typical is the great Ahu Nao-Nao -seven moai in a line.

Orongo Stone Village

Nestling on the crater lip of Rano Kau, the stone village of Orongo, was originally a place for initiation rights rather than an actual settlement. Its importance grew with the emergence of the so-called Birdman cult.

Petroglyphs

Right on the cliff at the edge of 53 houses, made of basalt stone slab, is a building known as Mata Ngara'u, where priests conducted rituals and ceremonies.

Rano Raraku Volcano

Located in the southeast of the island, Rano Raraku, one of Rapa Nui's three main calderas, is also known as the quarry, or moai nursery. Here, on its slopes, all the island's moai were carved from tuff (volcanic ash), before being transported as far as 11 miles away. This was not easy considering the statues weigh 20 to 300 tons and were likely dragged using wood and rope.

Ahu Ko Te Riku

Ahu Ko Te Riku is the only moai with eyes -part of the restoration work at the Tahia site performed by American archaeologist William Mulloy, following the discovery of a statue's eye on Anakena beach in 1978.

Bloomberg

ET  8MAY17