About this place
The small red-scoria crater that supplied pukao topknots for the island’s grandest moai.
Puna Pau’s iron-rich scoria was soft enough to carve yet strong enough to survive transport—ideal for cylindrical pukao weighing up to a dozen tonnes. Roughly three dozen headdresses remain scattered around the crater rim, some still half-carved in bedrock. Understanding pukao explains why coastal ahu look “incomplete” without their red crowns and how late-period rivalry spurred ever-larger displays of chiefly power.
Logistics
The visit is shorter than Rano Raraku—expect 45–60 minutes including photo stops. Midday heat radiates off red dust; a hat helps more than you expect.