HistoricalSites, Chile

With 15 gigantic stone-carved moai lined up on a 200-foot-long platform and a remote location framed by the looming Rano Raraku volcano and the crashing ocean, Ahu Tongariki is nothing short of spectacular. For many visitors, this is the star attraction of Easter Island, and looking up at the towering figures, the largest of which stands 14 meters tall, it’s hard not to be in awe of the Rapa Nui people, who achieved the seemingly impossible feat of carving and moving the 30-ton stone boulders to their waterfront perch. Ahu Tongariki is the largest ceremonial site ever made on the island, featuring the largest number of moai ever erected on a single site, and each statue is unique, with only one featuring the iconic red-rock “pukao,” or ceremonial headdress. Even more astounding, considering the size and weight of the statues, is that the site was almost completely destroyed by a tsunami in 1960, with the rocks flung more than 90 meters inland. The ahu has since been painstakingly restored, a project that took Chilean archaeologists Claudio Cristino and Patricia Vargas five years and was finally completed in 1995. Read more about Best Ahu Tongariki Tours, Trips & Admission Tickets - Easter Island - https://www.viator.com/en-AU/Easter-Island-attractions/Ahu-Tongariki/d306-a15083?mcid=56757 https://au.viator.com/Easter-Island-attractions/Ahu-Tongariki/d306-a15083

The ceremonial village of Orongo is one of the most interesting and spectacular archaeological sites on Easter Island. Here an ancient ritual that still inspires the competitions of the Tapati Rapa Nui festival took place. The village of Orongo was inhabited seasonally by the chiefs and main characters of the ancient tribes, who hoped to collect the first sacred egg of the manutara bird in the months of spring. It is believed that the first Orongo constructions were not related to the manutara cult. In fact, just before the start of the village, on the edge that looks at the lagoon, there are the remains of a small ahu or platform. Only the base at ground level of a single moai is conserved, which according to some hypothesis could be the famous Hoa Hakananai’a moai. In front of the ahu some holes in the stones can be seen, which could have been used as an astronomical observatory to determine the position of the sun. https://imaginaisladepascua.com/en/easter-island-sightseeing/easter-island-archaeology/orongo/

Puna Pau is the quarry where the red stone for the pukao, or topknot, for the moai statues comes from. In the later period of moai statue carving, a final decoration was build for the statues - a huge red block of stone on the head of the moais. This red stone is called pukao and represents the hair of the person the statue represents. The mana - a magical power - was preserved in the hair, so more hair would potentially mean more mana. All of the moai top knots come from Puna Pau. This is because Puna Pau is the red stone quarry which has the most intense red color, giving a more intense visual appearance once on top of the moai. https://www.easterisland.travel/places-to-visit/puna-pau/

Mr. Gustavo Wulff, German saltpeter and coal trader, as well as maritime transporter, migrated to Chile in 1881. In 1904, he bought from Dr. Teodoro Von Schoeders 1,260m2 in front of Cerro Castillo (Castle Hill), in Viña del Mar where he had a house built and ready in 1908. http://www.vinadelmar.travel/tour/wulff-castle.html

A must-see for tourists following the “Inca trail”; this is an oasis of shade in the middle of the desert. Inhabited by communities from Atacama, its easy-going pace is only interrupted by religious festivities which, depending on the patron saint, include confetti, flour or algarrobo drinks (fermented drink made from the pods and seeds of the algarrobo tree). Try the typical food of the north and don’t forget to visit the San Francisco Church, built in the 1600s. It is the oldest church in Chile and was built using millennial indigenous techniques. Go in and marvel: it is made out of mud and cactus wood. https://chile.travel/en/where-to-go/north-and-the-atacama-desert/san-pedro-atacama/chiu-chiu

Tulor Village was an important city circa 2800 b.C. with 200 inhabitants. Today, it´s a museum that seems to have been burried under the sand, right in the middle of the desert. The new town features houses built with mud, just like the first inhabitants used to build their homes, surrounded by walls that worked as protection. The constructions reach the 2 meters high and most of them have balconies. https://www.visitchile.com/en/tulor-village/