Ways To Experience Rapa Nui Culture on Easter Island

Read on for more about ways to experience Rapa Nui culture on Easter Island.

1 min read•Feb. 26, 2019•By Lydia Schrandt

Hi, I'm Lydia!

Lydia Schrandt is a writer, editor, and award-winning photographer currently based in Houston. She’s a contributor for USA TODAY 10Best and serves as the first chair of the Editors Council of the Society of American Travel Writers. Her work has appeared in Draft, Time Out Beijing, Travel+, USA TODAY, San Francisco Chronicle, and others.

Polynesian explorers likely settled on Easter Island between AD 300 and 1200, and the people of Rapa Nui have a cultural and spiritual heritage that extends beyond the enigmatic moai that keep watch over the island. Here’s what you need to know about experiencing Rapa Nui culture on Easter Island.

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Tour some of the island’s many ceremonial sites, including Ahu Akahanga, with an archaeologist guide.
To learn more about the significance of the moai to the Rapa Nui people, visit the rock quarry near Rano Raraku Volcano where the monolithic sculptures were created.
Experience traditional Rapa Nui chanting, music, and dance—including a dance lesson—during an evening folkloric performance and umu pae firepit dinner.
Gaze at the stars from traditional observatory sites to see stars and constellations that were of interest to Polynesian navigators.
See the sights of Hanga Roa, the island’s capital, during a sightseeing tour, with a stop at the Father Sebastian Englert Anthropological Museum.
Shop for indigenous crafts at the open-air artisan market, where around 40 vendors sell goods from grass-hut stalls.