Ninety seconds on Rano Raraku
From the outer slope, on the hillside that supplied almost every moai on the island, you walk among statues still joined to the rock or buried to the neck. Then you climb over the rim of Rano Raraku to the reed-ringed lake inside.
Rano Raraku is the quarry that supplied almost all of the island's moai. Its walls are tuff, a yellow-brown consolidated volcanic ash that is easy to carve. The name means furrowed hill in Rapanui, after the grooves that centuries of cutting left in the rock face, and you see them as you climb.
On the outer slope, statues stand at every stage of the work. The standing figures here have no hollowed eyes and no pukao, the stone topknot. Some are still attached to the mother rock, and many are buried so deep that only their heads show.
Some figures seem to have been left where the carvers hit stone too hard to cut. Look for the largest unfinished moai in the quarry: at 21.6 metres it is almost twice the height of any moai ever completed.
One moai here is shown kneeling, with a beard, hands resting on its thighs and mouth slightly open. Over the rim, the crater holds a freshwater lake ringed by totora reeds, which gave the islanders their drinking water.
Buy the national park ticket before the day, at the kiosks in the airport or the ticket office on Atamu Tekena in Hanga Roa, and make sure it is the foreign visitor ticket. It runs for 10 days from your first entry to the park, not from the day you buy it. Entry to the park's sites begins at 09:00, once park staff have checked them.
Most groups walk an L-shaped route. You climb the outer slope on marked paths past the half-finished and half-buried statues, with a wide view towards the Tongariki platform and the ocean. Then you go up over the rim of Rano Raraku, where the route turns back toward the entrance.
Keep to the marked trail and to the permitted distance from the moai: touching them, leaning on them or walking on a platform is forbidden at this sacred site. Tours usually pair the quarry with Ahu Tongariki, the row of 15 moai below the slope.
You can only enter with a guide accredited by Ma'u Henua, which manages the park, or as part of a tour, even if you hire your own car. Book your guide or tour before the day rather than counting on finding one at the entrance.
On a short stay a tour with transport is the simpler option. The park publishes a list of 99 authorised guides, so you can pick one in advance.
The slope is exposed to the sun and the climb is steep in places: bring water, a hat, sunscreen and covered arms, and wear shoes with grip. Take a trekking pole for the uneven ground.
Use the toilets here, since the park has public ones at only a few sites. Leave every stone and rock where you find it.
Explore the rest of Rapa Nui
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