As I explained earlier, the five-day ticket to Rapa Nui National Park allows for unlimited access to all sites save two—Ranu Raraku, the moai quarry, and Orongo, the village central to the Birdman cult. The guide we’d hired for our initial two days on the island, Cristin Arvalo Pakarati, included Ranu Raraku during our Monday tour, while he took us to Orongo on Tuesday, along with Ahu Tepeu, Ahu Aki, Puna Pau, Ranu Kau, and Ahu Vinapu.

Orongo rests on the lip of the extinct volcano Rano Kau between the caldera and the sea, but there’s a viewing area (from which the photo above was taken) before you pass through the visitors center that limits access to the village itself. So it’s possible to return and view the crater—which is nearly a mile across—as often as you’d like.

Once inside Orongo, you’ll find the village that was so central to the Birdman cult. This is where, once upon a time, the leader of the island was chosen. Contestants would climb down to the sea, swim out to Moto Nui, attempt to find an egg laid by a nesting sooty tern, and return with it unbroken. The first to do so would then be declared the Birdman. Once Christian missionaries arrived in the mid-19th century, though, that all came to an end.

The other highlight inside Orongo is the magnificent view of Moto Nui and Motu Iti. The ocean is beautiful, with as brilliant a blue as I’ve ever seen … but the thought of swimming out to that island in search of an egg is terrifying. There’s zero chance I’d ever be the Birdman!

We saw more petroglyphs (and clearer petroglyphs) at Orongo than at any other Easter Island site. There are reportedly hundreds of them there, far more than we were able to see, which argues in favor of visiting this particular site sans guide, so you can take your time during your one visit. We spent around two hours inside Orongo, and could easily have spent twice that.

The lake at the center of Rano Kau can also be seen from inside the Orongo complex. The photo above was taken about 90 degrees counter-clockwise from the one up top, as you can perhaps tell from the different perspective on the collapsed lip.

We returned to Rano Kau (though not Orongo) on Wednesday when we wandered the island in our rental car, shortly after our third visit to Tongariki. We wanted to see how the colors changed in the setting sun. This final photo was taken around 8:30 p.m., and if you look across the caldera, you can see the shadow of the lip on which we stood.

Our original plan was to spend four full days on Easter Island bookended by two half days, but we got the gift of another day on top of that thanks to LAN Airlines once our outbound flight was cancelled. Before we arrived, we’d wondered—had we scheduled too many days? Will there be enough to see? Would we overdose on moai, and grow bored?

As I trust the posts so far and the ones still to come will prove, nothing could be further from the truth.

I promise you—however much time you allot for Easter Island, you’ll wish you could spare more.