I’ve already shared about the major sites we saw while on Easter Island—Ahu Tongariki, Ranu Raraku, Orongo and Ranu Kau. If you happen to visit Easter Island as part of a cruise, that’s likely all you’ll get to see, because you’ll be ferried ashore (the cruise ships are too large to dock), rushed through those core sites in a single day without getting enough time at any of them, and then head back to sea.

But there’s so much more that the one-day visitor will overlook. Here’s what else we were lucky enough to visit during our time there.

During our first full day, our guide, in addition to taking us to Ahu Tongariki and Ranu Raraku, also drove us to …

Ahu Hanga Te’e

The eight moai which once stood upright here are now toppled, a few with broken necks, and their massive topknots have rolled forward off the platform. I could feel the weight of history, and inevitably thought of Shelley’s “Ozymandias.”

Ahu Akahanga

Another unrestored platform, this one once had as many as a dozen moai. According to legend, the first king of the island was buried here.

Papavaka

Many petroglyphs to be found here, including the fish above. Visit this site early or late, rather than at noon, because carvings will pop better in the rising and setting sun.

Ahu Te Pito Kura

At 10 meters tall, the toppled moai here is the largest ever brought from the Ranu Raraku quarry.

Anakena

If you’re in the mood for swimming, you can take a dip at the beautiful beach here, or like us, simply admire the moai at the restored platform.

Our second day, in addition to Orongo and Ranu Kau, our guide also took us to …

Ahu Te Peu

This unrestored village is home to the largest “houseboat,” where meetings would have been held. The holes you can see were for poles, which would have held a ceiling aloft.

Ana Te Pahu

Here we wandered lava tubes, evidence of Easter Island’s volcanic birth, occasionally coming across a piece of sky made visible thanks to an ancient collapse.

Ahu Akivi

Between 1960 and 1961, this platform and its seven moai were the first to be restored.

Puna Pau

It’s from this cinder cone quarry that all the moai topknots originated. It was also the windiest spot we visited on the island!

Vinapu

Further fallen moai to make us melancholy, including one of the largest on the island, its neck broken as it toppled.

The third full day on the island, we rented a car and took off on our own. In addition to revisiting Tongariki and Ranu Kau, we also drove to …

Ana Kai Tangata

Inside this cave we should have been able to see paintings of the sooty tern, which is associated with the Birdman cult. Unfortunately, the paint has for the most part flaked and fallen away, and the birds were barely visible. The cave was itself beautiful though, and worth a visit.

Ahu Paka’ia

Based on the signage, this site was in the midst of restoration. I was later told that the moai pictured here was only moved to that spot a month or so before our visit in preparation for soon being placed upright. It was the only moai we saw which had been transferred in that manner.

Hanga Tetenga

The fallen moai here wasn’t just broken at the neck, the weakest point of any moai, but the body as well, perhaps because of the platform height, which was taller than most of the others.

A few days later, during our final morning on Easter Island, we visited the Museo Antropológico P. Sebastián Englert, and discovered what is apparently the only existing moai coral eye insert.

Imagine if all the moai had these rather than staring inland with hollow eyes!

And with that (though I may eventually upload all of my the photos to Flickr), it’s time to say farewell to Easter Island.

All that’s left to say is … I hope you make it there yourself someday.