Uncovering Easter Island's Mysteries

As I scrambled down the cliff, I could hear the distant sound of waves crashing against the rocks. But it wasn't until my water bottle fell off my backpack and landed inches from the cliff's edge that I realized how steep a drop it was to the churning ocean hundreds of feet below. I peered over the edge and still couldn't see the bottom.

I was in good hands, though. My guide, Josie Nahoe Mulloy, was the granddaughter of the archaeologist who made many important discoveries on Easter Island.

She was taking me to Ana O Keke, the legendary Cave of the Virgins, a sight few visitors to this tiny island in the South Pacific ever get to see.

Adventurous Spirit Essential

An adventurous spirit is essential for visiting Easter Island. It's possible to sign up for a package tour, but you'd hit only a handful of the sights. To experience the island fully, hire a private guide and see what everyone else is missing. Better yet, rent a four-wheel-drive vehicle and head out on your own. Even in January and February at the height of high season you can find secluded spots where you won't see another soul.

Ana O Keke is one of those spots. Difficult to locate and even trickier to access, it's where the ancient peoples kept young women awaiting their weddings.

Shockingly small -- we had to crawl on our hands and knees to get inside -- the cave contains simple petroglyphs of fish and flowers, probably carved by the frightened girls sequestered here. The carvings are beautiful, and a bit sad.

Plenty to See

Easter Island is most famous for its moais -- the giant stone heads found all around the coast. But even if the island held not a single moai, there would still be plenty to see. Ana O Keke contains dozens of well-preserved petroglyphs, as do the cliffs near the ancient village of Orongo. Inside the cave of Ana Kai Tangata are colorful paintings of birds in flight. And many of Easter Island's more than 300 ahus, or burial chambers, are worth exploring.

The isolated island -- 2,300 miles off the coast of Chile, which claimed it in 1888 -- was uninhabited until about 1,500 years ago. That's when, according to local legend, King Hotu Matu'a and his extended family landed on a beach on the northern shore. Exactly where they came from remains a matter of discussion. The Norwegian archaeologist Thor Heyerdahl, who thought the island's fine masonry resembled that of the Incas, hypothesized that the first people on Easter Island traveled from South America. To prove the journey was possible, Heyerdahl set sail from Peru in his balsa-wood boat Kon-Tiki. Most archaeologists, though, citing similarities in language and culture, believe the original inhabitants were of Polynesian descent.

When he landed here on Easter Sunday in 1722, Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen, the first European to encounter the island, gave it the name most people recognize (locals call it Rapa Nui). Roggeveen found hundreds of "stupendous figures" that had been "erected in so masterly a manner." Yet when Britain's Captain James Cook anchored here in 1774, many of the moais had been toppled from their foundations. What happened during those 50 years? Archaeologists believe that overpopulation and overdevelopment devastated the island. Warfare broke out between clans, who knocked down the moais of others.

Impressive Sites

Many archaeological sites have been restored, more than a few of them by my guide's grandfather, William Mulloy. Among the most impressive is Ahu Akiva, where seven of the stoic stone figures look out to sea. Another is Ahu Nau Nau, where five moais were buried in the sand at Anakena Beach for centuries, leaving them extraordinarily well preserved. These are topped by pukaos, reddish stone cylinders thought to represent hair.

You needn't travel far to see moais. The first ones you'll encounter are in the center of Hanga Roa, the town where the island's 3,500 residents live. A short walk up the coast in the ancient ceremonial center of Tahai you'll come across a handful more, including (at Ahu Kote Riku) the only moai on the island to have its gleaming white coral eyes restored. The coastline faces west, so this is a great place to view blazing yellow sunsets.

Ranu Raraku, a quarry in a long-extinct volcano, is the island's most fascinating site, and it remains pretty much as it was left hundreds of years ago. (This is a popular destination for tour buses, but arrive early or late in the day and you'll likely have it to yourself.) Researchers have counted 397 moais -- nearly half of those found on the island -- at Ranu Raraku. The first ones visible line the outer rim, but the crater itself contains scores more. They gaze out expectantly, as though awaiting a move to their final resting place.

When to Go

Easter Island explodes with music and dancing during the Tapati Rapa Nui festival, which takes place in January and February. December and March are also busy months for tourism. But with temperatures averaging about 68°F all year there's no reason not to visit at other times. If you do, even the most popular archaeological sites will likely be uncrowded.

Mark Sullivan wrote the Easter Island chapter of Fodor's Chile. He also edited that book, as well as Fodor's South America and upCLOSE Central America.

By Mark Sullivan