Chile Guide
Easter Island and the Juan Fernández Archipelago
Rano Raraku
RANO RARAKU rises from the land in a hulking mass of volcanic stone. This crag is where almost all of the island's statues were produced, carved directly from the "tuff" (compacted volcanic ash) of the crater's outer slopes. The first surprise, on approaching the crater from the car park, are the dozens of giant heads sprouting from the ground. Tall, thin and angular, with long noses and hollow cheeks, these are the island's most widely photographed statues and have become the classic image of Easter Island presented to the outside world. It was originally thought that these heads were bodiless, but when archeologists began digging earlier this century they discovered whole torsos and arms buried beneath the ground. They are, in fact, finished moai brought down from the quarry, and were probably placed in shallow pits (that gradually built up) until they could be transported to their ahu. Clearly these were the last of the moai to be completed, and one of them bears an image on its chest of a three-masted sailing ship, suggesting that they were carved after European contact.
As you move higher up Ranu Raraku's slopes, you gradually become aware that you are surrounded by hundreds of unfinished statues carved out of the rock. As you look carefully you will see that what looked like a mere ledge is an arm, and an overhanging rock is a nose. Make sure you stick to the worn paths and do not clamber on the rocks/statues; your guide can be severely punished for allowing anyone to do so.
Among this mass of shapes, still attached to the rock face, is El Gigante, the biggest moai ever carved, stretching over 20m from top to bottom. Experts believe it would have been impossible to transport, let alone erect, this monster, and it's been suggested that it was never intended to be moved. A faint path leads up to the top of the crater rim where you'll find, on the other side, more buried moai, staggered down the green slopes of the interior. At the bottom, a large, murky lake is covered with floating reeds, adding to the strangeness of the scene. It is the scene of a "triathlon", one of the most impressive contests in the Tapati, the island carnival (see "Eating").