Chile - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget - page 476

HANGA ROA

ACCOMMODATION
Ana Rapu
Apina Tupuna
Hostal Aukara
Camping Mihinoa
Inaki Uhi
Residencial Kona Tau

EATING, DRINKING
& ENTERTAINMENT
Au Boût du Monde
Café Ra'a
La Esquina
Kari Kari
Kite Mate
Matato 'a
Merahi Ra'a
Mikafé
Piditi
La Taverne du Pêcheur
Te Ra'ai
Toroko

2
3
5
1
4
6

PACIFIC
OCEAN

4
7
9
6
8
4
5
1
10
2
11
3

0 500

metres

Caleta
Hanga Piko

Orca Diving
Centre

Caleta
Hanga Roa

Mike Rapu
Diving Centre

Cemetery

Playa Pea

Banco Santander

Banco
Estado

R P O T Football

Field

Entel

Oceanic
Rent
A bike

Banco
Estado
(ATM)

Makemake
Rentabike

Feria
Municipal

Plaza
Policarpo
Toro

Taura'a Tours

V .

Man@net

Farmacía
Cruz Verde

Kia Koe
Tour

LAN Chile Supermarket

Kai Nene

Omotohi
Cybercafe
Aku Aku
Turismo

Insular
Car Rental

Lavandería Rapa Nui

A

Mercado
Artesanal

Jail

Iglesia
Hanga Roa

4

Aeropuerto
Mataveri

Anakena (22km) & Ahu Akivi

small priestly elite was literate and that
the knowledge perished with them
during the slave raids and smallpox
epidemic of the early 1860s. The script
remains undeciphered to this day.

The Orongo site of the Birdman
cult consists of 53 restored houses with
tiny doorways, made of horizontally
overlapping flat stone slabs, hugging
the side of the cliff. A winding labelled
footpath leads past them to the edge
of Rano Kau, where a cluster of
petroglyphs depicting the half-bird,
half-human Birdman, as well as
Make-Make, the creator, overlooks
a sheer drop, with the islets Motu Kao
Kao, Motu Iti and Motu Nui jutting
out of the azure waters below.

Rano Kau crater and
Orongo ceremonial village
South of Hanga Roa, a dirt road climbs
steeply past a mirador offering an
excellent panoramic view of the island, to
one of Easter Island's most awe-inspiring
spots - the giant crater of the extinct
Rano Kau volcano . The dull waters of the
volcano's reed-choked lake contrast
sharply with the brilliant blue of the
Pacific, visible where a great chunk of
the crater wall is missing. You pay the
CH$30,000 entry fee (CH$10,000 for
Chilean residents) at the Conaf ranger
station just before you reach Orongo
ceremonial village ; it is valid for one visit
each to the two main sights of Parque
Nacional Rapa Nui which comprises much
of the island: Orongo and Rano Kau.

THE SOUTHERN COAST
Heading east out of Hanga Roa, Hotu
Matu'a leads you towards the southern
coast . A right turn at the end, followed
by an almost immediate left by the fuel
storage tanks, takes you to Vinapu , an
important site consisting of three ahus
(stone platforms) with a number of
broken moai scattered around. he ahus
are made of overlapping stone slabs,