Easter Island

Rapa Nui


The Easter Island is world famous for its huge human heads carved out of volcanic rock called moai statues. They are the remains of polynesian inhabitants which had already vanished when the European disoverrs first found the island. And for a long time the history of the island was a big riddle.

Nevertheless, the island has not only this single attraction. The unique flora and fauna of the island and the geology have also become important attractions for international scientists and tourism. The island is of volcanic origin, and so it is natural that there are lava tubes under the surface. The small island with only 165 km² has a total of 7 km caves known today. They were explored during the last decades by cavers from the USA, Poland, and Spain.

But there are also local cavers. Lázaro Pakarati and his family is maintaining the cave registry of the island. They collect all publications on currently 800 known caves.