Chez Jérôme

Chez Jerome is a charming cottage located by the Rano Kau volcano,in front of the Ana Kai Tangata cave,and 200 meters away from the sea.The place is about 1 kilometer away from downtown.Come and discover a very friendly place runned  by a Rapa Nui and French family.

Rapa Nui, located at the easternmost vertice of the Polynesian triangle, in the heart of the Pacific Ocean lies 3700 km from the Chilean coast and 4000 km from French Polynesia. The island has an area of 16600 hectares and enjoys a subtropical climate with minimum temperatures of 16 °C and a maximum of 28 °C. The island was created as a result of underwater volcanic eruptions some 3 million years ago.

THE TAHAI COMPLEX
Ahu Ahu Vai Uri, Ahu Tahai and Ahu Ko Te Riku: Here you will find the best example of a ceremonial center with 3 Ahu. Ahu Vai Uri with 5 moai, Ahu Tahai with 1 moai, Ahu Ko te Riku with 1 moai,
on which eyes and a pukao (made of red scortia) have been added for tourist interest.

In this site you are able to appreciate boat shaped houses, hare moa (chicken houses), manavai (structures to protect plants), umu pae (Polynesian ovens), a natural harbor, a canoe ramp, some small caves and the remains of a rock circle in which ceremonies for the dead were performed, called Paina. Nearby is the tomb of the archaeologist William Mulloy who restored the site between 1968 and 1970.

ORONGO
Orongo is a ceremonial center dating from 1410 to 1876 which was used in the last centuries to perform the Birdman competition. On the rim of the giant crater there are 53 oval-shaped houses, built with stone slabs and all with a small entrance facing the sea. They are laid out in two rows, finishing at the sacred area called Mata Ngarahu, which is heavily decorated with petroglyphs and looks out to the neighboring islets.

AHU VINAPU
The earliest phase of this site has been dated at 1200 AD. There are 3 altars in the area, and the first, called Ahu Tahira, is notable for its perfect stonework in the back wall, and one which often reminds people of the stone work produced by the Incas in Cuzco and Machu Pichu. The six moai are face down and the space beneath them has been transformed into a secret chamber. The abdomen of one of these statues was painted with red earth for unknown reasons during the last century. Near the second altar you will find an interesting statue made of red scortia which once had two heads and that some people say was female. Of the third altar, only a few rocks now remain.

AHU AKAHANGA
This platform is also known as the altar of the highest chief. According to local legend, the tomb of the legendary founder of the island, Hotu Matu'a, is located nearby. The altar illustrates the numerous phases of the construction of an altar. It consists of four platforms on top of each other, twelve statues and the remains of eight pukao (red scortia topknots). There is also a second altar where the workers were interrupted from raising a moai onto the platform. There is also a canoe ramp nearby and directly in front of the altar it is possible to appreciate on of the best conserved village settlements, containing boat shaped houses, cooking ovens (umu pae), as well as a cave which would have been used as a shelter.

RANO RARAKU VOLCANO AND QUARRY
The majority of the moai were all carved from the volcanic rock found on the inner and outer slopes of this volcano. There are some 400 moai in all stages of carving, giving the visitor the chance to appreciate the various forms, including the kneeling statue known as Tukuturi.

Another moai is noteworthy for having a 3 masted ship carved on its abdomen. Towards the west it is possible to observe moai that have been abandoned en route to their platforms. The road which they lie on is known as Ara o te Moai (the road of the moai).

AHU TONGARIKI
With its 15 statues, this is the largest ahu on the island. The entire site was destroyed and scattered over a large area after a tidal wave in 1960, and reconstruction began in 1993 thanks to the donation by a Japanese company of a crane for future archaeological work. The results of the restoration have to be seen to be believed. Beyond the plaza there is an important petroglyph site called Papa Tataku Poki, with representations of tunas, turtles, etc.

AHU TE PITO KURA
With a moai of over 10 meters and an approximate weight of 90 tons, this statue represents the largest moai to ever be transported and raised on to a platform. Near the ahu are the ruins of an enormous pukao which weighs 1.5 tons.

According to collected ethnographic information, this moai was one of the last to be overthrown at the end of the 18th century. Next to the altar is a large round stone known as Te Pito o te Henua (the navel of the world) to which magical powers have been accredited.

ANAKENA
The is the beautiful white sand beach where, according to local legend, King Hotu Matu'a first set foot on the island and soon after his wife gave birth to the first Rapanui. The name Anakena really refers to a nearby cave that overlooks the beach where small birds called kena used to nest. Less than 1 km away towards the side of the hill there is another beach, smaller and with pink sand, called Ovahe.

AHU NAU NAU ET ATURE HUKE
Ahu Nau Nau was restored between 1978 and 1980 by the local archaeologist Sergio Rapu, and the platform demonstrates a complex construction with various levels. The platform holds 7 moai, 2 of which are broken, the other 5 being the best preserved moai on the island having been buried in sand; they are complete with all the details of their hands, tattoos on their backs and pukao. Some of the stones within the back wall contain interesting petroglyphs. During the excavation they found an extraordinary eye made of white coral with a pupil of red scortia, now on display in the island's museum. This discovery proved that once the moai had been elevated onto the platform the eyes were inserted so that the spirit of the ancestor entered the statue and offered protection to the village it gazed over. Slightly further behind is the altar Ahu Ature Huke, with just one moai, which was raised by the Norwegian archaeological expedition in 1956, helped by a group of islanders under the then mayor Pedro Atan.a.

CAVES
The island contains hundreds of caves, while the sector of Roiho, north of Hanga Roa, is where the largest concentration of these volcanic formations are to be found. Caves, or ana, were used as temporary refuges during times of conflict (ana kio) as well as burial places, storage sites and lodgings.escr
Ana te Pahu: One of the largest, containing an abundant variety of vegetation inside.
Ana te Pora: Has an interesting volcanic form with two levels, containing remains of human occupation.
Ana Kakenga: Known as the cave of the two windows due to its large openings over the sea and a neighboring islet.
Ana Kai Tangata: Formed part of the birdman cult, contains beautiful paintings on the ceiling which were done at the end of the 19th century.
Ana o Keke: Situated in the steep cliffs of a hill, this cave is 380 meters long and contains some interesting petroglyphs near its entrance.
Ana o Neru: Also known as the cave of the virgins where it is said that young girls were kept in preparation for sexual initiation rites.

AHU AKIVI
This platform dates from 1500 and was the first altar to be scientifically restored in 1960 by William Mulloy and Gonzalo Figueroa. Its real name is Ahu Atiu, but due to a recent error is now known as Ahu Akivi, the actual name of a neighboring altar. The platform holds seven moai and has an astronomical orientation marking the direction from which the Pleiades appear during their orbit between June and December, from solstice to solstice. In the island, as in the rest of Polynesia, the new year began with its appearance on the night of the June solstice, three degrees from the point where the sun rises. According to recent folklore, the statues represent the seven explorers sent by Hotu Matu'a to find the island, helped by the directions of the priest Haumaka in the dream which he had in Hiva.

PUNA PAU
This secondary crater was used as a quarry for red scortia in order to make the pukao, ornaments which added to the complexity and beauty of the altars and gave power to the various groups. While some people maintain that they represent the hairstyle of the islanders who used to paint their hair red, others suggest that they are hats. According to observations made by some of the 19th century explorers and ethnographic information gathered by Katherine Routledge, the pukao were really called hau hiti rau (hats that make the plants grow) in reference to the practice of placing karakama (stones with inlaid white coral) on top of these red scortia cylinders so as to absorb the power (mana) of their ancestors before burying them. The idea was to give better fertility to the land in which they were buried. Presently there are 58 which clearly had pukao and 31 still in the quarry, nevertheless it is very possible that the pukao of some statues have been destroyed or reused in later constructions.

POIKE DITCH
According to oral legend, a group of Hanau Eepe took refuge in the Poike volcano during the most critical moment of the conflicts between the rival groups, and built a defensive ditch at the base of the peninsula from north to south. Finally the rival group, the Hanau Momoko surprised them from behind the ditch, pushed them inside it since it had been set on fire, and only one or two of the Hanau Eepe survived. One of the names for the ditch is Ko te Umu o te Hanau Eepe (the oven of the Hanau Eepe). This bloody battle took place in around 1680 according to the calculations of Father Sebastian Englert and is backed up by the carbon dating carried out by the Norwegian expedition in 1950. Recent archaeological data contradicts this tradition due to the lack of obsidian weapons and later carbon dating puts the date somewhere in the 11th century. According to this theory, the ditch was used to plant taro since the earth here is very fertile and it is sheltered from thein

wind and the salt of the sea. Furthermore Paymaster William Thompson, who visited the island at the end of the 19th century incorrectly identified the Hanau Eepe as the long ears and the Hanau Momoko as the short ears, confusing the word eepe (strong, solid) with epe (ear), while momomoko means thin or skinny and hanau means to be born. All of this appears to point to two social groups. Sadly the mistranslation by Thompson led to a series of incorrect interpretations of the history of the island, some people even talking of one migration of Polynesians and another of Pre-Columbian origin.

 

• Continental Breakfast or Half board
• Service Dinner is prepared by an International Chef :
• A local aperitif (with or without alcohol)
• A main dish
• Dessert
• Tea, coffee or tea
   

Recreation - Rental

• Rental car, motorcycle, quad, bike
• Renting snorkeling equipment, ocean kayaks, surfboards and body boards
• Horse Rides
• Boat Rides
• Diving

Special offers

• Minimum 6 nights

Rates (in $USD)

All rates shown in green indicate the lowest prices available but may not have free amenities includes, such as free breakfast. Certain conditions may be applied.

Regular price

Minimum 6 nights