The Best Months for the Tongariki Sunrise
The best months for the Tongariki sunrise: sunrise and first-light times for every month at Ahu Tongariki, and how often the sunrise hour is clear or clouded out.
Forecast model cloud at Ahu Tongariki, sunrise computed · How the verdict works · checked island time
There is a Tongariki sunrise every morning of the year, but the clear ones are not spread evenly: in ten years of weather reanalysis, February and March had the most mornings with little cloud in the sunrise hour (43% and 47%), and May and July to October the fewest (25% to 28%). December and January sit in between, with about four clear mornings in ten. Sunrise moves from about 7:15 AM in early December to about 8:27 AM in early April, island time. Whatever the month, the strip above reads the cloud for the next sunrise, and Maori Tour Rapa Nui’s small-group sunrise is from US$80 per adult (checked November 2026), with free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
Sunrise and cloud by month
| Month | Sunrise on the 1st | Sunrise on the 15th | First light on the 15th | Clear mornings (35% cloud or less) | Clouded-out mornings (over 85%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 2026 | 7:26 AM | 7:18 AM | 6:53 AM | 31% | 37% |
| December 2026 | 7:15 AM | 7:17 AM | 6:51 AM | 37% | 31% |
| January 2027 | 7:26 AM | 7:37 AM | 7:11 AM | 40% | 26% |
| February 2027 | 7:50 AM | 8:01 AM | 7:37 AM | 43% | 21% |
| March 2027 | 8:10 AM | 8:18 AM | 7:55 AM | 47% | 16% |
| April 2027 | 8:27 AM | 7:34 AM | 7:10 AM | 35% | 31% |
| May 2027 | 7:42 AM | 7:50 AM | 7:25 AM | 26% | 40% |
| June 2027 | 7:59 AM | 8:05 AM | 7:39 AM | 35% | 27% |
| July 2027 | 8:07 AM | 8:06 AM | 7:41 AM | 26% | 35% |
| August 2027 | 7:58 AM | 7:47 AM | 7:23 AM | 28% | 35% |
| September 2027 | 7:31 AM | 8:15 AM | 7:52 AM | 27% | 35% |
| October 2027 | 7:57 AM | 7:42 AM | 7:18 AM | 25% | 37% |
Sunrise and first light (the start of civil twilight): timeanddate.com for Hanga Roa, island time, checked November 15, 2026. Cloud: the share of mornings in 2016 to 2025 with that much total cloud in the hour of sunrise at Ahu Tongariki, in the ERA5 weather reanalysis (about 300 mornings per month). The rest of each month’s mornings fall in between, the strip’s MIXED SKY.
Two jumps in the times are clock changes, not the sun. timeanddate.com notes that daylight saving time ends on April 3, 2027 and starts again on September 4, 2027, so sunrise moves almost an hour earlier in early April and an hour later in early September.
What the numbers mean for your trip
- November and December. The earliest sunrises of the year, around 7:15 to 7:26 AM, with first light shortly before 7:00. A bit under a third of mornings were clouded out in the reanalysis, so leave yourself more than one possible morning if you can.
- January to March. The clearest stretch in the table, with clear mornings rising from 40% in January to 47% in March and clouded-out mornings falling to 16%. Sunrise gets later, close to 8:20 AM by mid-March.
- April to October. Fewer clear mornings, mostly a quarter to a third, and sunrises around 7:30 to 8:15 AM. The sunrise still happens behind the moai; you are more likely to see it through or under cloud.
The sunrise tours adjust their start to the season. Paka Paka Tours’ group sunrise changes its departure time through the year so that you arrive before sunrise, and Miru Ariki’s pickups start early, between 6:00 and 6:30 AM, at a time that depends on the season and is confirmed the evening before.
Book a morning, keep a spare
With roughly one morning in three clouded out on average, the reliable way to see the Tongariki sunrise is to have more than one morning to try. The GetYourGuide sunrise tours here can be cancelled for free up to 24 hours before, so you can book for your first morning and watch the forecast.
Sunrise at the Ahu Tongariki: The Awakening of the Moai
Maori Tour Rapa Nui: 6:00 AM start, pickup up to 15 minutes before, about two hours at Ahu Tongariki, folding chairs. Guide in English or Spanish.
See dates →Sunrise Tongariki: Sunrise at Tongariki Park Private Tour
Kapua Tours & Experience: 6:30 AM start, hotel pickup, two hours. US$199 for one adult, US$240 for two. Guide in English or Spanish.
See the private sunrise →Two Full-Day Rapa Nui Tours + Tongariki Sunrise
RAPA NUI DREAM: two full guided days around the island and a sunrise morning, 9:30 AM start on day one, pickup from your accommodation.
See the pack →Prices, ratings and review counts from the listings (checked November 2026), regular prices for one adult unless stated. The park ticket is extra on all three: CLP 95,000 for a foreign adult (Ma’u Henua, checked November 15, 2026). Treat them as a guide, not a quote: the calendar shows the price for your date and group before you pay.
Tongariki sunrise today explains the strip’s three verdicts, and getting there before dawn has every tour’s start and pickup.
Pick Your Month, Then Your Morning
Maori Tour Rapa Nui's small-group sunrise: a 6:00 AM start, pickup from your accommodation up to 15 minutes before, about two hours at Ahu Tongariki. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
Check dates