Enigmatic Rock Art of Chile and the Easter Islands

Travel across the globe with our international expert, Dr Paul Bahn and see some of the most enigmatic rock art in the world. Join our tour, Chile and the Easter Islands to venture down the coast of northern Chile into the spectacular Atacama Desert, the driest in the world, before flying back over the pacific to the iconic site of the Easter Islands. Discover places seldom visited by tourists, enigmatic moai and geographical wonders. Experience some of the world’s most enigmatic rock art with Andante.

“This was an absolutely wonderful holiday, with a very good balance between time spent on organised visits to archaeological sites and museums and free time. I am still thinking about all that we saw and learned, and feeling refreshed and inspired by the time we spent in Chile. Really, one of the best holidays I have had in a long time. THANK YOU, ANDANTE!”

Santiago

Santiago, Chile’s capital since the colonial era, offers a wonderful mix of old and new. Sprawling skyscrapers contrast with historic pastel-coloured buildings, world-famous museums meet beloved local diners, and the Andes provide a beautiful backdrop to bustling city life. On foot is the perfect way to take in the culture and local atmosphere as we discover its many parks, winding streets and eclectic buildings, admiring the fusion of colonial, Art Deco, and Neo-Gothic styles.

One highlight is the Museo de Arte Precolombino, which houses an incredible collection of Latin American antiquities. Begun by Chilean architect and antiques fanatic Sergio Larraían García-Moreno, it displays many interesting artefacts that have been selected specifically for their aesthetic qualities, such as Mapuche funeral carvings and an entire room of beautiful prehistoric textiles. Another must-see is the Museo de Arqueologico e Historia Francisco Fonck, which boasts a rich collection of wooden carvings, striking displays of archaeological material from other parts of Chile.

Arica

Arica awaits, the seaside port and town in northern Chile, just a few miles south of the Peruvian border. Here, we explore the culture and history of the Chinchorro people, beginning with a visit to Colon 10, a burial ground of the Chinchorro, found in 2008. Interestingly, the museum was built directly over the burial ground, so some of the excavated skeletons have remained in situ. We also visit the San Miguel Archaeological Museum, home to the famous Chinchorro Mummies, preserved for several millennia by the dry heat of the desert. Modern analysis of the mummies has revealed them to be semi-nomadic people subsisting on the sea. Astonishingly, the oldest body predates the Egyptian mummies by some 3,000 years. We also cross the stark oasis of the Azapa Valley to view the spectacular rock art still visible on the hillsides — a vivid assortment of human figures and animals.

Atacama Desert

Atacama Desert, the driest desert in the world according to studies by NASA. Parts of this region have never received even one drop of rain. As part of our journey through Chile, we stop to explore El Gigante del Atacama, the world’s largest prehistoric depiction of a human. We also visit the geoglyphs at Ariquilda, Tiliviche and Chiza. The sprawling human and llama geoglyphs here are thought to have been created as a guide to caravans descending from the mountains to the coast.

Iquique

The journey to Iquique is broken up at the famous Cerros Pintados (painted hills) to view geoglyphs scattered for miles along the barren hillsides. More than 450 figures have been discovered here, the largest collection of its kind in South America. After our long journey, we take time to relax once in Iquique, a spectacular port city and one of the country’s premier beach resorts thanks to its position along the golden coastline. We admire the cityscape from a different perspective with a boat trip from the harbour into the Pacific, looking out for pelicans, sea-lions and endangered Humboldt penguins. We also include an atmospheric tour of the ‘ghost town’ of Humberstone, a former saltpetre mining town that was abandoned in 1960. The fertiliser sodium nitrate produced here transformed agriculture in North and South America, and Europe, generating great wealth for Chile, and the area has since been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

San Pedro de Atacama

San Pedro de Atacama is an oasis village surrounded by spectacular volcanic scenery – and one of Chile’s most beloved destinations. Our morning is spent among the amazing lunar landscapes of the Valle de la Luna, a colourful and textured valley that contains unusual wind-carved formations and dry lakes that gleam with salt. The afternoon is free to spend how you wish, either relaxing at the hotel, exploring Pedro de Atacama or joining an optional excursion which can be arranged through our Local Guide. One of the most popular is to the extraordinary Atacama Salt Flat, located about 60 kilometres south of San Pedro.

Easter Island

Easter Island, one of the most isolated locations on the planet, forms the second part of our adventure. A land of mysterious monumental statues called moai, unique landscapes and a rich history, there is so much to discover. Our first full day on Easter Island begins with a trip to our first moai at Ahu Tahai, where these monolithic human figures stand – one with its giant coral eyes replaced. Three ceremonial platforms remain on this site, which were restored by the late American archaeologist, Dr William Mulloy, who is buried here alongside his wife. We continue on to the nearby Museo Antropologico Sebastian Englert to learn the story behind the moai and their discoverers. Here we see the only female moai to have been discovered, as well as an original moai eye.

Another highlight is the quarry at Rano Raraku, where many unfinished moai are still standing in situ. The site was in use until the 18th century, supplying stone for around 97% of the island’s moai over a time frame of approximately 500 years. The biggest moai in existence lies here incomplete and measures a staggering 21.6 metres from end to end. Following this we visit the longest line of standing statues at Tongariki, the largest Ahu on the island, where we find the world’s heaviest re-erected moai, weighing in at an almost inconceivable 86 tonnes. The rock carvings at Papa Vaka await too, where we see marine petroglyphs carved into the basalt, including a remarkable depiction of a squid.

The south coast is home to even more moai sites, contrasting with Anakena Beach, renowned for its white coral sands. There is Ahu Vaihu, where the moai lie face down with broken necks; Akahanga, an unrestored platform near which the island’s first king is said to be buried; Hanga Tetenga, where tumbled statues rest amidst scattered rocks; Te Pito te Kura, the site of a bizarre magnetic stone as well as the largest moai to be transported from Rano Raraku; and, lastly, but by no means least, the detailed carved figures of the royal platform of Ahu Nau Nau.

The restored moai in the harbour of Hanga Piko and Ana Kai Tangata (‘cannibal cave’), situated directly on the seafront are sights to behold too, as well as Rano Kau, a wide volcano within which lies a crater lake. Here we visit the Orongo ceremonial village, perched magnificently on the crater’s edge, beside a sheer 300-metre cliff. Other stops include the ruined platforms of Vinapu, the lava cave at Te Pahu, the inland platform of Ahu Akivi with its seven identical statues seemingly placed to mark both spring and autumn equinoxes plus Ahu Huri a Urenga. Finally, we visit the quarry at Puna Pau, an extinct volcano and source of the huge red cylindrical stone topknots seen on the heads of many maoi. A climb to the sides of the crater rewards us with wonderful views of Hanga Roa.

Expert-Led

Join us in Chile and the Easter Islands with your expert Guide Lecturer, Dr Paul Bahn. Dr Paul Bahn is the leading expert on prehistoric rock art worldwide and is certainly one of our best-known archaeologists. Paul led the team which discovered the first Ice Age cave art in Britain in 2003. He is not only a leading academic but a great exponent of popular and accessible archaeology, and he has been leading tours for Andante Travels since 2000, inspiring and enthusing our travellers in the famous caves of France and Spain, in open-air rock shelters in Portugal, and in Chile and Easter Island. His most recent publication, Images of the Ice Age, was awarded Book of the Year in the Current Archaeology Awards.