Ahu Tongariki, Hanga Roa

Close to the quarry, this is a great stop before or after. We did not go at sunrise. The site was destroyed by a tsunami but restored by a Japanese company, and it is arguably the best restored ahu platforms.

If you are going to Easter Island, this is one of the two main sites you have to do. This site is amazing. The Moai here are fantastic, really impressive. We went here twice, once in the afternoon and once in the early morning, to see it in different light. This is definitely the best site on the island for seeing the Moai in their original form. If you get the right positions, you can also have some fun with editing. Take a look at my pictures.

Easter Island is famous for its stone statues of human figures, known as moai . The island is known to its inhabitants as Rapa Nui. The moai were probably carved to commemorate important ancestors and were made from around 1000 C.E. until the second half of the seventeenth century.

Ahu Tongariki is the largest ahu on Easter Island. The ahu (a type of ceremonial altar) was assembled between 500-1000 years ago. Fifteen moai of various sizes and weights are mounted on the ahu. The heaviest moai weighs approximately 85 tons. Dutch Admiral Jacob Roggeveen reported in 1722 that all the moais were erect; one hundred years later, all were toppled for various reasons. An offshore tsunami in 1960 pushed all of the moais inland several hundred meters. The ahu and moais were remounted in 1990.

Visited twice. Once during the day and once at dawn to take pictures of the sunrise. Easy to get to, and big lines. Had to show ticket and passport on both occasions and be accompanied by a guide. That can take a little time as the ranger records the info manually.