Rano Raraku is one of the highlights on Easter Island and a protected place. With your National Park ticket, you are only allowed to visit this place once, so bring some time with you and do not come just before closing time. Rano Raraku is an extinct volcano and the production site of the Moais. Here the Moais were struck out of the rock and then transported across the island to their destinations. There are many different theories about the transport. You can read about them in the free museum in Hanga Roa. However, there are no records and it is still not clear how the transport of the massive Moais took place.
In Rano Raraku you will find Moais in different stages, because partly half-finished Moais are still in the rock. The Moais are distributed throughout the area. In and around the volcano are a total of 397 Moais or Moai parts.
When you enter Rano Raraku, the path divides into 2 directions relatively at the beginning. It seemed, that many visitors skipped the left path, because you can not exactly see, where it leads to. If you follow it, you will reach the volcanic crater, which is overgrown by plants in the middle. In the distance you can also see some moais on the other side of the volcano.
The right trail of the original path will take you along countless of Moais. The trails lead relatively close to the Moais, making this place perfect for selfies. You see the biggest Moai, which is still half-finished in the rock. There is a moai, on which you can see a petroglyph (picture in stone) in the form of a sailboat. At the end of the trail you can see the 15 Moais of Tongariki in the distance and you are facing a very special Moai, because this one kneels and is the only known Moai in this form.