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The Moais' average height is 13 feet (4 meters) and they weigh an average of 12.5 tons. But each one is unique, with sizes and features — even ears, lips and torsos — that vary. They are also almost all male — just 10 of those unearthed so far have female characteristics.

The Moais were built to watch over ancient settlements and all stand with their backs to the ocean except at Ahu Akivi, where seven heads watch the waves from a hillside. A village may once have stood between those Moai and the water. Ahu Akivi is worth visiting at different times of day: Its heads glisten a soft honey-brown at dusk, but look gray and imposing at brighter hours.

From there, a 1,675-foot (511-meter) hike leads to the island's highest point, Maunga Terevaka. Hold on to your cap: The sea breeze gets gusty! The island is almost completely devoid of trees, making hills below look like giant green marshmallows. There are also 7,000 wild horses on the island, and friendly stray dogs are prevalent in town.

We walked around for four days, rented a Jeep for two and took organized tours for two more. Distances that look short on the map can stretch on for hours by foot; pack sunscreen and water before leaving Hanga Roa.

The sun rises and sets late, so you can easily wake up in time to drive in absolute darkness to Ahu Tongariki, 15 erect Moai flanked by a rocky cove. Dawn breaking over the statues — with only the crashing of angry surf and an occasional crowing rooster interrupting the silence — rivals climbing a snowy Great Wall of China as the most amazing thing I've seen in my traveling life.

The nearby Rano Raraku volcano is also wonderful: A quarry where Moai can be seen in all stages of completion, including hauntingly emerging from volcanic bedrock.

All three island volcanos are extinct, but Rano Raraku is known as "the nursery" because it provided the stone from which 95 percent of Moai were fashioned. One, "El Gigante," is the largest Moai ever carved at 70 feet (21.6 meters) high. Gaping holes in the side of the volcano show where islanders hacked to maneuver the Moais.

An army of Moai, many buried up to their necks, guards the volcano's slopes. There were 320 Moais left under construction or in transit, indicating just how abruptly islanders quit building them.

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The largest Moai ever moved measured nearly 30 feet (9 meters) and weighed 87 tons. Theories on how islanders managed to transport such massive creations include rolling them on canoes mounted on logs or dragging them with a system of pulleys. Either way, the palm trees that once forested the island were relied upon heavily, contributing to deforestation.

North of Rano Raraku is Anakena beach, where clear, cold waves lap a white-sand beach. While swimming, you can peek at the backs of eight Moais at Ahu Nau Nau, some of the best-preserved because they were buried under sand for years.

South of Hanga Roa, on the slopes of the Rano Kau volcano, is Orongo ceremonial village, with recreations of the circular homes islanders once occupied. Here you'll see the island's largest crater, a wind-swept bog that slopes down at abrupt angles, yielding spectacular views of the sparkling ocean in the distance and three tiny islets.

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When migratory birds arrived on the islets, tribes would nominate an athlete to scale down the Rano Kau volcano, swim across shark-infested waters and find a bird's egg. The first to return without breaking the egg would be supreme leader for the year, ensuring his tribe's place atop the island's hierarchy. The contest, last held in 1865, ended tribal warfare.

Nearly 500 carvings called Tangata Manu depict human bodies with bird heads, and Edmunds called the birdman competition "a crude form of democracy." But he said it only came after a squandering of resources led the civilization to collapse, and he warned that the same fate could befall the world.

"I see Rapa Nui as a preview of what can happen to the whole world," he said. "We went to war and destroyed ourselves. Twelve or 15 generations later, the world may do the same."

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