Day 1: SANTIAGO
Meeting at the airport. Transfer to the hotel. City tour in Russian (lasting 5 hours). We begin our journey in the Alameda Bernardo O’Higgins – the main avenue of Santiago. Then a visit to La Moneda, the Government Palace. Enjoy a stroll along the pedestrian street. We will visit famous Plaza de Armas, Santa Lucia hill, Providencia with its top restaurants, elegant shops and modern high-rise buildings.
Day 2: SANTIAGO – CONCHA Y TORO VINEYARDS
Breakfast. Departure from the hotel to visit Concha y Toro, one of the largest and most famous wineries in the Central Valley.
The winery was founded in 1883 in the Pirque district by Don Melchor Concha y Toro and had perceived the glory of fine wine production for decades. It was inherited by his wife, Dona Amelia Subercoso afterwards. At the same time the famous French landscape designer Gustav Rennes established a park and built houses there; all of them was then illustrated on the labels of Santa Emiliana wines. Now the winery and its vineyards cover an area of 444 hectares and is the largest vineyard of Chardonnay (located on Maipo, Rancagua and San Fernando).
Cabernet, Sauvignon, and Casillero del Diablo are among the most popular brands produced at Concha y Toro. The tour begins at the Don Melchor Sqaure with a wonderful view of vineyards. An old house belonging to the family Concha y Toro is still preserved near the vineyards.
Day 3: SANTIAGO
Breakfast.We offer guided tours (for surcharge)of Viña del Mar and Valparaiso.
In the evening: dinner at a restaurant with a folklore show of Polynesian dances of Easter Island. Return to the hotel.
Day 4: SANTIAGO – EASTER ISLAND
Breakfast. Transfer to the airport. Departure to the Easter Island.
Easter Island is a volcanic island in the South Pacific. Sone statues in the form of a human head – moai – were found exactly on Easter Island, 2000 km afar from the nearest settlement. Sculptures were made in the quarries of the island, but is still unknown how they were transported to the island. According to legend, they could move by themselves. It is argued that the Easter Island is a part of a huge sunken continent once inhabited by a highly developed civilization. Transfer to a three-star hotel Otai. Hotel accommodation.
Day 5: EASTER ISLAND: Anakena
A guided tour in English (after breakfast).
The tour starts with a visit to Ahu Waihi where 8 large moai statues are located. Proceeding to Ahu Akahanga, a long stony column with 4 fallen statues. According to legend, this place is the tomb of the first king of the island, Hoto Matua. Then you will visit Ahu Tongariki – the largest tombstone ever built on the island devastated by tsunami in 1960 and re-established afterwards. Now it has 15 statues lined up in a row. In earlier times, the islanders were convinced that the moai protect their land and themselves from evil spirits. No one can still understand how the people could create them. The vast majority of the statues lie unfinished in quarries or along ancient roads. Some of them have frozen in the depths of the crater of the volcano Rano Raraku, some have congealed beyond the volcano as if heading to the ocean. The volcano will be the next paragraph of our tour. About 400 statues in various stages of completeness were found in its vicinity. Then you will visit the Bay of La Perous and Ahu Te Pito Kura called the “Navel of the Earth”. The journey will come to end by the visit to the Anacostia beach. According to legend, the king Hoto Matua made his first step to the island exactly on Anacostia.
Day 6: EASTER ISLAND: Orongo & Ahu Akivi
An excursion in English (after breakfast).
Excursion to the Rano Kao volcano and the ceremonial village of Orongo. The tour starts climbing the Rano Kao volacno which offers a magnificent view of the island – its coastline, volcanoes and the village of Hanga Roa. Stop at the observation deck; you will be able to see a giant crater (1.5 km in diameter) of volcano filled with water and the ceremonial village of Orongo. Numerous petroglyphs depicting “human-birds” and Make-Make god (around 480 patterns) are among the showplaces of this village. Next stop is the cave Ana Kai Tangata which in ancient times served as a refuge to the early inhabitants of the island; its walls have saved a lot of drawings of the islanders. Afternoon excursion to Ahu Akivi (for 3.5 hours). It is a platform with seven moai statues – the only of moai looking toward the ocean. The platform dated back to 1460 (by William Mallow) was completely renovated in 1960. Next stop is the cave Ana Tepahu. This picturesque lava cave served as a shelter to the ancient inhabitants of the island. Today the cave is “settled” by various types of plants. The tour continues with a visit to the archaeological area of Puna Pau quarry where ancient caps and tufts of moai hair (Pukao) were discovered. A halt at Ahu Tahai.
Ahu Akiva sanctuary is an astronomical observatory built around 1500 AD. It was the subject for the first major restoration works undertaken on Easter Island by archaeologists William Mulloy and Gonzalo Figueroa. Return to the hotel.
Day 7. EASTER ISLAND – SANTIAGO
Breakfast. Transfer to the airport.
Departure to Santiago. Change to Moscow flight.
The cost of the program is AZN 1550 per person (excluding airfare).
