Rapa Nui National Park, National park and UNESCO World Heritage Site on Easter Island, Chile

Rapa Nui National Park covers 7,150.88 hectares, about 43.5% of Easter Island, and is divided into nine separate parcels that count the islets (Motus) as one. It holds 887 moai carved from volcanic rock, the ahu ceremonial shrines they stood on, cave paintings and petroglyphs, and the crater lakes of Rano Kau, Rano Raraku and Rano Aroi, the island's only water deposits. The terrain is volcanic and triangular, with sparse shrubs and planted eucalyptus groves.

Polynesian settlers arrived on the island around the 4th to 12th century and later carved the moai figures from volcanic stone between the 14th and 17th centuries. The building of statues eventually slowed as the society transformed.

The island's name Rapa Nui comes from a 19th-century Tahitian visitor who found it larger than Rapa; nui means big. The moai were carved from yellow-brown volcanic tuff quarried only at Ranu Raraku, with some figures cut from red scoria. The ceremonial platforms called ahu were built close to and parallel with the coast.

Entry requires a ticket purchased at the park entrance, and visitors must stay on marked trails and within designated areas to protect the sites. Most of the main attractions can be seen over a few hours to a half-day walk, and guides are available to provide context and information.

The moai were carved from yellow-brown volcanic tuff found only at Rano Raraku, on the southeast side of the island. Many unfinished statues remain in the quarry, and some were also carved from red scoria.