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Easter Island, a special territory of Chile that was annexed in 1888, is most famous for the hundreds moai statues scattered throughout its coastline. Located in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, the entire island is protected within the World Heritage site of the Rapa Nui National Park.

Easter Island, a special territory of Chile that was annexed in 1888, is most famous for the hundreds moai statues scattered throughout its coastline. Located in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, the entire island is protected within the World Heritage site of the Rapa Nui National Park.

The ceremonial village of Orongo, in the south of the park, is considered to be among the most spectacular archaeological sites in the world. It is perched on a narrow ridge, with the crater of the Rano Kau volcano on one side and cliffs that fall 300 meters to the sea on the other. Orongo contains dozens of petroglyphs and stone houses dating from the Huri-Moai period of Easter Island’s history (c. 1680–1867). The self-contained, dry-laid houses featuring sod roofs were built into the topography of the site. The ceremonial center of Mata Ngarau in Orongo, center of the Tangata Manu (Birdman) cult that succeeded the moai culture, was the site for the annual games that represented the transfer of power between competing clans. By the end of the nineteenth century, most of the Rapa Nui culture had perished or had converted to Christianity; the Tangata Manu cult collapsed and Orongo was abandoned.