It takes a while to get there ! It's the most incredible natural place in Easter Island. The force and the beauty of the nature here is incredible.

Orongo Ceremonial Village

Top choice in Rapa Nui (Easter Island)


Nearly covered in a bog of floating totora reeds, the crater lake of Rano Kau resembles a giant witch's cauldron and is a wild greenhouse of endemic biodiversity. Perched 300m above, on the edge of the crater wall on one side and abutting a vertical drop plunging down to the cobalt-blue ocean on the other side, Orongo Ceremonial Village boasts one of the South Pacific's most dramatic landscapes. It overlooks several small motu (offshore islands), including Motu Nui, Motu Iti and Motu Kao Kao.

Built into the side of the slope, the houses have walls of horizontally overlapping stone slabs, with an earth-covered arched roof of similar materials, making them appear partly subterranean. Orongo was the focus of an islandwide 'birdman cult' linked to the god Makemake in the 18th and 19th centuries. Birdman petroglyphs are visible on a cluster of boulders between the cliff top and the edge of the crater.

Orongo is either a steepish climb or a short scenic drive 4km from the center of town.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Rapa Nui (Easter Island) attractions

1. Parque Nacional Rapa Nui

1.5 MILES

The vast majority of Rapa Nui falls within the boundaries of this national park. Think of it like an open-air museum with mysterious archaeological sites…

2. Ana Kai Tangata

1.68 MILES

This vast cave carved into black cliffs sports beautiful rock paintings with birdman motifs. However, when we passed through it was closed due to falling…

3. Caleta Hanga Piko

2.25 MILES

Easily overlooked by visitors, the little Caleta Hanga Piko is used by local fishers. Facing away from the caleta, the restored Ahu Riata supports a…

4. Ahu Vinapu

2.38 MILES

Beyond the eastern end of the airport runway, a road heads south past some large oil tanks to this ceremonial platform, with two major ahu. One of them…

5. Playa Pea

2.75 MILES

For a little dip, the tiny beach at Playa Pea, on the south side of Caleta Hanga Roa, fits the bill (though it's more of a rocky cove than a sandy oasis).

6. Ahu Tautira

2.81 MILES

If you've just arrived and can't wait for your first encounter with the moai (large anthropomorphic statues), head straight to Ahu Tautira. This site…

7. Caleta Hanga Roa

2.84 MILES

Your first encounter with the moai will probably take place at Ahu Tautira, which overlooks Caleta Hanga Roa, the fishing port in Hanga Roa at the foot of…

8. Iglesia Hanga Roa

2.86 MILES

The unmissable Iglesia Hanga Roa, the island's Catholic church, is well worth a visit for its spectacular carvings, which integrate Christian doctrine…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "chile/southwest-circuit/attractions/orongo-ceremonial-village/a/poi-sig/454709/1337396",
      "destination": "Rapa-Nui-(Easter-Island)",
      "continent": "South-America",
      "country": "Chile",
      "region": "Rapa-Nui-(Easter-Island)",
      "position": "superzone"
    }