Ahu'ena Heiau

After Kamehameha the Great established his kingdom's royal court in Lahaina on Maui, he returned to Ahu'ena Heiau, his Kamakahonu residence on Kailua Bay, where he died in May 1819. His personal temple is at the tip of an outcropping on the northern end of Kailua Bay, and surrounded by water on three sides. It has been reconstructed with palm-leaf shacks and carved wooden ki'i(statues). Do not climb on this sacred site.

Here, Kamakahona beach is a miniature cove fronting King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel. The waters are calm and safe for children, and the hotel's beach hut rents beach gear.