Easter Island - Orongo Ceremonial Centre

The visit starts out at the Ana Kai Tangata cave, located south of Hanga Roa, where cave paintings depicting birds (mainly manutaras) can be seen in the back left cave wall. It is speculated that this is where the athletes participating in the Birdman Competition met for a ceremony held in honour of Make Make, the creator god. Next follows a visit to Rano Kau, a 310m high volcano, with a crater measuring more than a kilometre in diameter that forms a natural amphitheater framing a large freshwater lake (11 metres deep). Next to the volcano’s crater lies the old ceremonial village of Orongo, with the largest concentration of petroglyphs of the island.