Ahu Tongariki — Attraction in Easter Island

There were some clouds in the horizon at sunrise so we didn’t get that perfect pink sky but nevertheless seeing the moai in that morning light is an unforgettable moment.

Our experience here was however entirely ruined by the local guide called Vanessa Teao!

We got to Rapa Nui the evening before and we’ve been told you can only visit Tongariki (and a bunch of others) with a guide. Tried find one but everyone was unavailable so we thought we’ll turn up in the morning hoping to get a guide at the location as you have them in most other places.

Got there well before sunrise (still dark) and realised we forgot our camera back at the hotel. The park ranger at the gate asked us for CLP 10k ($10) for a guide to let us in. Told him we’ll be back once we get the camera.

On returning an hour later, this woman was now at the gate together with the same ranger saying she’s a guide and asking for CLP 20k. When told we’ve been asked for 10k by her ranger colleague she goes ‘the guy before you paid 20k for one person, you’re getting a discount!’ I then asked her what kind of guide services will she provide if she just collects money from everyone and she doesn’t go with them to which she goes ‘you pay and you go look at the moai’, in other words a very productive way of scamming people while it’s still early in the morning and not a lot of other officials around.

When asked why was the price 10k in the morning with the ranger she switched to Spanish (which we also speak) and kept telling the guy he should have never asked for that. I told her in that case it will be just me going in and my partner will stay at the car, handing her the 10k.

She refused to allow this saying she wants 20k for one person too, switching to Spanish again and starting swearing at us, saying I’m willing to leave ’ese puta’ in the car and picking on again as why he only asked for 10k only ruining her business.

She eventually realised we called her bluff and allowed us both in for 10k, being sweared at and treated like this before sun was even up ruined the whole experience for us.

I can understand the guide fees help the locals of Rapa Nui after the hard pandemic years, but such scamming will end up pushing tourists away. I should say no one ever asked us for the $80 pp National Park tickets we paid for as it’s not a source of personal income for any.

I found a picture of Vanessa Teao on the National Park site and attached here, avoid this horrible person if you want to enjoy...

Rapa Nui is the most remote inhabited island on earth. You may recognize this place by its common title "Easter Island". The island pokes out of the ocean with one hundred fifty square miles of area, but this is only the tip of a giant extinct volcano rising ten thousand feet from the ocean floor.Easter Island got its Christian name on Easter Sunday in 1722, the day that Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen landed there. He found the natives in a primitive society engaged in constant war with each other, resorting to cannibalism at times of no other food being available. He was followed in 1770 by a Spanish captain who claimed the island for Spain, in 1774 by Captain Cook of England and in 1786 by a French admiral. The general lack of water, wood and food left them equally uninterested in using Easter Island as a place to resupply their ships.The mysteries of Rapa Nui are these -- how did people get here in the first place, how did they MAKE these gigantic statues, and then how a civilization could have degraded from such a cultural and artistic peak, backwards to a state of poverty and starvation?The standard tale of the people on Easter Island is that overpopulation and poor resource management led them to their own extinction. It's commonly used as a warning to the entire globe, telling all humans not to make the same mistakes on a planetary scale.Another version of the story might include the European introduction of smallpox, venereal disease, slavery and oppressive government as a warning to the entire globe, telling all humans not to make the same mistakes on a planetary scale.In any case, take another look at these images and be happy you have such a nice home...

Ahu Tongariki is the largest ahu on Easter Island (Rapa Nui).

We had an early morning sunrise tour to watch the sunrise come over the Moais. We were one of five couples. It was beautiful. Slowly the light rose and due to cloudiness, the light shined through but no yellow sun beams. This is a must see event. Don’t just go to see this site, live it. Do a sunrise tour! Park pass is required for entry. Park personnel is already there well before light. We arrived at 6am and sun rose at 6:45. Now, onto more learning about the Moai, if you wish. It’s just a quick tidbit you should and everyone should know. Do read. Thanks for checking out my post. Have a great trip! P.S.: The photos are taken from first light to brightest sunrise. It was cloudy and this was the sunniest it was getting up until 8am. No further reason to stay if the sun wasn’t going to shine through. The video is of the surrounding area, including everyone there for the sunrise. Enjoy!

The moais were toppled during the island's civil wars, and in the twentieth century the ahu was swept inland by a tsunami. It has since been restored and has fifteen moai, including one that weighs eighty-six tonnes, the heaviest ever erected on the island.

All the moai here face sunset during the...