Orongo is a village at the center of the Bird Man culture. Situated at the Western side of the island and on the edge of a volcano’s caldera.

The Bird Man competition was a ritual of epic proportions. Each contestant would be required to scale down the steep cliffs of the volcano, swim to the nearby island of Moto Nui to recover an egg from the Sooty Tern birds that next there. Whoever could bring an egg back intact would be crowned the Bird Man!

In preparation for this competition, there are numerous houses built out of stone for the competitors to prepare and rest in. They are situated on the Western most point on the Island at the edge of the Volcano’s caldera. There is a trail that circumvents the caldera which you can explore and take in both the micro-climate produced in the caldera, and the steep cliffs straight down into the ocean.