View of Ahu Tongariki, most impressive moai site in Easter Island, Chile.
Ahu Tongariki is the largest ahu on Rapa Nui/Easter Island (a Chilean island in the Pacific). Its moai were toppled during the island's civil wars and in the twentieth century the ahu was swept inland by a tidal wave. It has since been restored and has nine moai including an 86 tonne moai that was the heaviest ever erected on the island. Ahu Tongariki is close to Rano Raraku and Poike in the Rapa Nui National Park. All the moai here face sunset during Summer Solstice; but their backs face sunrise during Winter Solstice. Ahu Tongariki was substantially restored in the 1990s by a multidisciplinary team headed by archaeologists Claudio Cristino (Director) and Patricia Vargas (Co-director executive team), in a five year project carried out under an official agreement of the Chilean Government with Tadano Lt. and the University of Chile.
Size: 5250px × 3500px
Location: Easter Island, Chile
Photo credit: © leandro hermida / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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