Hanga Roa
Worth visiting during Sunday Mass, the Church of Hanga Roa, located in the streets Te Pito o Te Tu’u Henua and Koihu. Inside are intricate wooden sculptures that illustrate the adaptation of the Rapa Nui to Catholicism.
Caleta Hanga Roa
The moai are found across the island, but the two overlooking Caleta Hanga Roa, the Ahu Tautira probably will be your first encounter with them. The small bay is used by local fishermen, and in the mornings you can buy fresh fish.
Nearby you will find Pea Beach, near the port, which has a rock pool ideal for swimming. Beside, the area is the best for surfing, diving and snorkeling.
The Tahai Complex
The ceremonial complex of Tahai, famous for its sunsets, is located beyond the small cemetery of Hanga Roa. On a small accessible slope covered by grass, the visitors will discover many restored ahu, as well as numerous remains of houses, the well-known boathouses where the family of the notable islanders lived. The only things left of these buildings are the stone foundations and the pavement of the ground with the holes to receive the wooden skeleton.
When talking about Tahai, it is necessary to make a distinction between the Vai Uri ahu and its five statues, the Tahai ahu with its unique statue, and the Ko Te Riku ahu. To the north, over the Hanga Ki’oe ahu is located the Moai A Kapu. Not far from there, slightly dominating Tahai, was built the Easter Island museum, initially financed by Japan. The Father Sebastian Englert Anthropological Museum exposes a very small part of the island’s lithic utensils, a collection of old fishing hooks, the first coral eye discovered in Anakena, and many other valuable pieces such as the splendid Kava Kava moai. In the warehouse remain other 20,000 pieces, which were inventoried thanks to a private foundation’s financing. However, due to the lack of bigger resources, it is difficult for the museum to expose more objects in their showcases because, like in other places, great vigilance and expensive security measures are needed in order to prevent the theft of antiques, which makes it difficult to expand the exhibition rooms.
