Few places on Earth have gripped the world's imagination as has lonely Easter Island, a tiny speck of land 2300 miles west of Chile. Chilean in nationality and Polynesian in character, the island is famed for the hundreds of mysterious, giant stone-carved "moai" figures facing inland or gazing out at the sea in a silent sentinel that remains unexplained, but bears testimony to the glory of the island's ancient chiefs.

Day 1: Arrive Easter Island
Arrive in Easter Island, an idyllic 45-square-mile landscape of palm-fringed beaches and grassy hills amid a million square miles of empty ocean.  You are greeted on arrival by a Big Five representative and your first of Easter Island's famous moai statues, then driven to your hotel in Hanga Roa, the main town. Hotel Hanga Roa or similar

Day 2: Easter Island
This morning's thrilling introduction to the island's earliest residents includes an ascent to the summit of Rano Kao Volcano to view its massive crater and magnificent Orongo ceremonial city, center of the ancient "birdman" cult.  Explore the many buildings and spectacular petroglyphs, and learn of the annual ritual involving the islands of Motu Kao Kao, Motu Iti and Motu Nui, visible only from the edge of a sheer cliff.  Also stop at Ahu Vinapu, site of two Inca-like stonework temples central to explorer Thor Heyerdahl's claim that the first islanders came from South America.  In the afternoon, set out again to the seven moais at Ahu Akivi, the historic Pahu cavern, and Puna Pao quarry, source of the giant red cylinders crowning many of the statues. Hotel Hanga Roa or similar (B)

Day 3: Easter Island
As you circle the island on a day trip with a box lunch, enjoy many perspectives for pondering the enormity of the undertaking of carving the massive stone moai heads; the legendary rift between the "Short Ears" and "Long Ears"; and the meaning of hundreds of faces, carved from the rock and placed in upright positions atop massive platforms facing the sea.  Your tour will include the Rano Raraku quarry from which the giant figures were carved and can be admired in different stages of production; reconstructed Aku Tongariki, the biggest platform on the island; the toppled statues of Ahu Vaihu; and picturesque, statue-strewn sites along the northeast and southern coast. Hotel Hanga Roa or similar (B,L)

Day 4: DEPART Easter Island
With new insights into an enigmatic land, transfer to the airport and depart back to the mainland and civilization.  (B)

DEPENDING ON FLIGHT SCHEDULES FROM SANTIAGO, THE ABOVE PROGRAM MAY NEED TO BE EXTENDED TO 5 DAYS