The ahu, the largest on Easter Island, was effectively destroyed. It wasn't until 1992 that the site was restored, under the direction of Chilean archaeologist, Claudio Cristino. The task took ...

If size signified importance, Ahu Vinapu was one of the most important ahu on Easter Island. The precisely fitted large basalt cut slabs have perplexed some archaeologists, in particular Thor ...

The moai, carved from volcanic tuff, are threatened by rising sea levels and climate changes worsened by global warming.

A few hundred eclipse chasers flocked to Chile's Rapa Nui to see annularity from the home of the mysterious moai.

Oct. 2's annular solar eclipse saw a small-looking new moon cross the face of the sun to create a perfect circle for about ...

About one mile east of Rano Raraku volcano is Ahu Tongariki, the largest ahu complex on Easter Island with 15 moai statues.

Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui or Isla de Pascua ... At least 288 of these once stood upon massive stone platforms called ahu. There are some 250 of these ahu platforms spaced approximately ...

We started our week on Easter Island by exploring Hanga Roa on foot, focusing on the free activities. On our second day, we joined a full-day tour of Rano Raraku, Ahu Tongariki, and other sites that ...

See the annular “ring of fire” and partial solar eclipse captured by photographers in some of Earth's most remote and iconic ...

On Oct. 2, 2024, a few hundred eclipse chasers will be on the volcanic Easter Island — called Rapa Nui by natives and one of ...

This story appears in the July 2012 issue of National Geographic magazine. On a winter night last June, José Antonio Tuki, a 30-year-old artist on Easter Island, did one of the things he loves ...