Sights in Kaua'i
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Ninini Point
You'll enjoy solitude from other tourists at Ninini Point, where 360-degree vistas show jets swooping in the sky above and waves crashing against the rocks below. Looking east, soaring cliffs cut off rainbows and, closer in, golfers tee off near a beckoning scoop of beach.
These terrific views from Ninini Point are made more so by its 100ft lighthouse marking the northern entrance to Nawiliwili Bay. Here, Hawaiians still fish, pick 'opihi (edible limpet) and gather limu (edible seaweed). The road to the lighthouse begins off Kapule Hwy, just over 0.5 miles south of the intersection with Ahukini Rd and marked with two concrete slabs. You'll pass a guard gate (usually empty…
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Waimea Canyon
Of all Kaua'i's unique wonders, none can touch Waimea Canyon for utter grandeur. While one expects to find tropical beaches and gardens here, few expect a gargantuan chasm of ancient lava rock, 13 miles long and 2500ft deep to the riverbed (or 3700ft above sea level). Flowing through the canyon is the Waimea River, Kaua'i's longest, which is fed by three eastern tributaries that bring reddish-brown waters from the mountaintop bog, Alaka'i Swamp.
From afar, the view of the canyon tends to be hazy. The optimum viewing conditions are sunny days following heavy rain, when the lava layers turn deeper red and waterfalls cascade throughout the canyon.
Waimea Canyon was formed whe…
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Wailua Falls
Wind your way 4 miles north of Lihu'e to Wailua Falls, made famous in the opening credits of the Fantasy Island TV series. While officially listed as 80ft, the falls have been repeatedly measured at between 125ft to 175ft. Indeed, this gushing double waterfall (Wailua means 'two waters') misting the surrounding tropical foliage is a fantastic photo op, especially when the falls merge into one wide cascade after downpours.
At the lookout spot, a sign reads: 'Slippery rocks at top of falls. People have been killed.' Of course, this tempts folks to scramble down the unmaintained path for the thrill of swimming beneath the falls. The path is steep and people actually do slid…
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Menehune Ditch
Constructed prior to Western contact, Menehune Ditch, a stone and earthen aqueduct is an engineering masterpiece, with rocks carefully squared, smoothed and joined to create a watertight seal.
According to legend, Ola, a king, ordered Pi, a kahuna (priest), to create a dam and ditch to water his lands west of the Waimea River. Pi contracted with the menehune living on the canyon rim to build the ditch for payment of one 'opae (shrimp) per menehune. As always, they finished the project in one night, received their payment and returned to their mountain home, humming so loudly that their voices were heard as far as O'ahu.
When Captain Vancouver visited Waimea at the close of…
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Kaua'i's Hindu Monastery
On an island virtually devoid of Hinduism, the splendid Kaua'i Aadheenam, commonly called simply Kaua'i's Hindu Monastery, is both serious monastery and growing tourist attraction. Located on 458 acres of lush rainforest above Wailua River, the traditional South Indian Saivite (Shiva-worshipping) monastery is a sprawling garden oasis, with a meditation hall and Ganesha statues sitting amid wildly tropical landscaping. The gift shop here has chanting CDs, alarm clocks with the Great Crystal on the face, granite lingams and tiger-eye Ganesha figurines.
Access is limited to tours three or four times a month, which are well worth the time. Check the website for tour dates.
In…
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Alekoko (Menehune) Fishpond
Although the view is distant, you won't regret a quick stop to look at the tranquil 39-acre Alekoko (Menehune) Fishpond, an ancient loko wai (freshwater pond), surrounded by a vast area of forest. According to legend, Kaua'i's menehune (little people) formed the fishpond overnight when they built the stone wall running along a bend in Hule'ia River. The stone wall is now covered by a thick green line of mangrove trees.
The pond was in great condition until 1824, when Kaua'i's leader Kaumuali'i died and ali'i (chiefs) from O'ahu and Maui ruled the island as absentee landlords. With no ali'i to feed and maintain the pond, it sorely declined. Later the surrounding area was p…
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National Tropical Botanical Garden
If plants aren't your thing, National Tropical Botanical Garden might inspire you to develop that green thumb. NTBG, a nonprofit working to propagate tropical and endangered species, manages five gardens (three on Kaua'i, one on Maui and one in Florida).
In Po'ipu's NTBG, don't miss the 80-acre Allerton Garden, a stunning landscape masterpiece, showcasing giant Moreton Bay fig trees (seen in Jurassic Park), an 'undulating' fountain, golden bamboo groves, pristine lagoon and valley walls blanketed with purple bougainvillea during summer. In 1870 Queen Emma, the wife of Kamehameha IV, lived in Lawa'i Valley - and her summer cottage still stands today. The garden's namesake …
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Wai'oli Hui'ia Church
A popular site for quaint church weddings, Wai'oli Hui'ia Church was built by Hanalei's first missionaries, Reverend and Mrs William Alexander, who arrived in 1834 in a double-hulled canoe. Their church, hall and mission house remain in the middle of town, set on a huge manicured lawn with a beautiful mountain backdrop.
The pretty green wooden church retains an airy Pacific feel, with large, outward-opening windows and high ceilings. The doors remain open during the day and visitors are welcome. A Bible printed in Hawaiian and dating from 1868 is displayed on top of the old organ. The Wai'oli Church Choir, the island's best, sings hymns in Hawaiian at the 10:00 Sunday ser…
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Lydgate Beach Park
Families flock to the clean, safe, conveniently located Lydgate Beach Park, with calm waters in a large seawater pool protected by a stone breakwater. It's ideal for shallow swimming and beginning snorkeling. Beware of the open ocean beyond the pool, where currents are strong. Amenities include changing rooms, rest rooms, showers, drinking water, picnic pavilions, lifeguard and ample parking. The Eastside paved coastal path runs through the park.
In 1994 thousands of local volunteers helped build the enchanting Kamalani Playground at the northern end of the park. This massive 16,000-sq-ft wooden castle has swings, slides, mirror mazes, a suspension bridge and other kid-pl…
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Kilohana Plantation
Amid sprawling, manicured lawns, Kilohana Plantation is now a tourist magnet featuring Gaylord's restaurant, estate tours and one-stop upscale shopping. Sugar baron Gaylord Parke Wilcox, once the head honcho of Grove Farm Homestead, built the house in 1935. Trivia buffs take note: the Wilcox family was the model for James Michener's famous epic, Hawaii.
The 15,000-sq-ft Tudor-style mansion has been painstakingly restored and its legacy as one of Kaua'i's distinguished historic houses is unquestioned. Antique-filled rooms and Oriental carpets laid over hardwood floors lead you past cases of poi pounders, koa bowls and other Hawaiiana to a row of gallery shops.
Clydesdale ho…
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Tunnels Beach
A hot spot for snorkeling and diving, Tunnels Beach is a wide, horseshoe-shaped fringing reef with fantastic underwater life viewable during calm summer seas. During such conditions, you can start snorkeling near the east point and let the current carry you westward. It's more adventurous (and less crowded) than Ke'e Beach.
In winter, high surf conditions mean a tubular break (hence the name Tunnels) for expert surfers and perilous risk for the rest of us. Dangerous rip currents prevail from October to May. It was here on October 21, 2003 that competitive surfer Bethany Hamilton, then 13, lost her left arm in a shark attack. Undaunted, Bethany resumed her surfing career, …
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Barking Sands Pacific Missile Range Facility
Between Kekaha Beach Park and Polihale State Park, the beach stretches for roughly 15 miles. But there is only limited public access near the US Navy base at Barking Sands Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF). After the September 11 terrorist attacks, the Navy barred access except to Kaua'i residents without felony convictions or to people with military connections.
The Navy is Kaua'i's largest employer and it controversially occupies and prohibits access to indigenous Hawaiian territory. Any move by the military to occupy more land generates fervent protest.
Barking Sands earned its nickname because on days both sunny and windy (with the planets lined up just right) the …
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Na 'Aina Kai Botanical Gardens
Joyce and Ed Doty moved to Kaua'i from California in 1982 and began landscaping the grounds of their home. Today the Dotys are in their 80s and their retirement project is a 240-acre extravaganza of Na 'Aina Kai Botanical Gardens, all meticulously groomed.
The expansive grounds include 13 gardens, including the 'Formal Garden' where over 70 life-sized bronze statues romp in Norman Rockwell-inspired poses. A unique attraction is the Poinciana maze, where paths lead you to topiary and statues. Also on the grounds: a beach, a bird-watching marsh and a sprawling forest of around 60,000 South and East Asian hardwood trees.
The gardens are a tad contrived, as they lack the histo…
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Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge
Birders will enjoy the scenic 2-mile drive through the Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge, which passes taro fields, banana trees, bamboo thickets, hau (hibiscus) trees and wild ginger across 917 acres of the valley.
Prior to Western contact, the valley was planted with taro. Then in the mid-1800s rice paddies were planted to feed the Chinese sugar-plantation laborers. After peaking as a major crop in the 1880s, rice eventually waned and today taro again predominates - though at only 5% of its original acreage. Hanalei's wetland taro farms produce two-thirds of Hawaii's commercially grown poi taro and also create a habitat for endangered Hawaiian waterbirds.
The refuge, esta…
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Lumaha'i Beach
If Lumaha'i Beach looks familiar, it's where Mitzi Gaynor promised to wash that man right out of her hair in the 1958 musical South Pacific. It's just as spectacular in real life. Plan to stroll this mile-long sandy beach, with jungle growth looming on one side and tempestuous open sea on the other.
Forget swimming. There is no reef barrier and waves are almost always too powerful, with perilous shorebreaks.
There are two ways onto Lumaha'i Beach. The first and more scenic is a three-minute walk that begins at the parking area 0.75 miles past the 4-mile marker on the Kuhio Hwy. The trail slopes to the left at the end of the retaining wall. On the beach, the lava-rock ledg…
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Koke'e State Park
Sprawling Koke'e State Park is the starting point for almost 50 miles of outstanding hiking trails. Here, you'll see terrain unlike that found anywhere else on the island, including the largest concentration of extant native bird species in Hawaii.
Remote Alaka'i Swamp in particular is a unique view of Kaua'i's native ecosystem; not only is the swamp inhospitable to exotic species but, due to its high elevation, it is one of the few places across Hawaii where mosquitoes, which transmit avian diseases, do not flourish. Ancient Hawaiians never established a permanent village in these chilly highlands and came mainly to collect feathers from forest birds and to cut koa trees…
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Larsen's Beach
The long, golden sands of Larsen's Beach, named after L David Larsen (former manager of C Brewer's Kilauea Sugar Company), is good for solitary strolls and beachcombing. Although shallow, snorkeling can be good when the waters are very calm, usually only in the summer. Beware of a vicious current that runs westward along the beach and out through a channel in the reef.
When the tide is low, you might share Larsen's with Hawaiian families collecting an edible seaweed called limu kohu. The seaweed found here is considered to be some of the finest in all of Hawaii. Otherwise, it will be you, the sand and the waves.
To get here, turn onto Ko'olau Rd from whichever end (ie wher…
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Russian Fort Elizabeth
The remains of the Russian Fort Elizabeth (1816-64) stand above the east bank of the Waimea River. It looks like a boring abandoned stone wall but the historical backstory might surprise you.
In a nutshell, the Russians were interested in Hawaii as a supply spot between Russia and the Pacific Northwest, where they monopolized the seal and otter fur trade. A Russian diplomat ingratiated himself with Kaua'i's King Kaumuali'i, who figured the Russians might help him overcome King Kamehameha's dominance. In September 1816 the diplomat began the construction of Fort Elizabeth, but within a year he was forced to leave, due perhaps to King Kamehameha's orders or to general suspi…
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Kalalau Lookout
At the 18-mile marker, the 4000ft Kalalau Lookout faces the emerald depths of the valley and straight out to sea. On clear days, late-afternoon rainbows sweep so deeply into Kalalau Valley that the bottom part of the bows curve back inward. Bright-red 'apapane birds feed from the ohia-lehua flowers near the lookout railings.
Kalalau Valley was once the site of a large settlement and was joined to Koke'e by a very steep trail that ran down the cliffs. Today the only way into the valley is along the coastal Kalalau Trail from Ha'ena on the North Shore or by kayak .
The paved road continues another mile to Pu'u o Kila Lookout, where it dead-ends at a parking lot. At the time …
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Kamokila Hawaiian Village
Established in 1979, Kamokila Hawaiian Village, perched on the north bank of Wailua River, remains a relatively off-the-radar attraction. Run by a Hawaiian family, the modest site includes grass huts, an assembly house, a shaman's house and other structures, and approximates a traditional indigenous settlement. A small map explains each building's purpose. As you walk around, you might recognize the village as that used in the movie Outbreak.
While the village is not a must-see, the outrigger canoe tours on Wailua River are personalized and unique. They include a paddle, hike and waterfall swim, offering an interesting variation on the regular Wailua River kayak trip , as…
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Hanalei Beach Park
Often dubbed simply 'Hanalei Pier,' due to its unmistakable landmark, the stretch of sand shaded by ironwood trees at Hanalei Beach Park is popular mainly with surfers. The sandy-bottom beach slopes gently, making it very safe for beginners. Lessons are typically taught here, just west of the pier, where you find surf schools lining up big ol' softboards and rashguards daily.
In summer, swimming and snorkeling are decent, as are camping and kayaking. As always, take extreme caution during periods of high surf as dangerous shorebreaks and rip currents are common.
At the eastern end of the park the mouth of the Hanalei River opens into the beach and you'll find a small boat …
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Kukuiolono Park
Whether or not you golf, Kukuiolono Park is nice for jogging or strolling. You'll see only locals here - along with a panoramic vista of the South Shore, including verdant Lawa'i Valley, the resorts in Po'ipu and the endless Pacific beyond.
Kukuiolono means 'light of Lono,' referring to the torches that Hawaiians once placed on this hill to help guide canoes safely to the shore. In 1860 King Kamehameha III leased the land to Duncan McBryde, whose son, Walter, the pineapple baron, eventually purchased the 178-acre estate. He built the public golf course here in 1929 and later he deeded the entire site to an irrevocable trust, for use as a public park upon his death. Walter…
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Kaulu Paoa Heiau
The vague remains of Kaulu Paoa Heiau stand just five minutes' walk from Ke'e Beach. Here, beneath a cliff face, large stones create a long flat grassy platform where a thatched-roof hula halau (school) once stood. In ancient Hawai'i this halau was Kaua'i's most sacred; students aspiring to learn hula came from all of the Hawaiian Islands and the legendary Kaua'i chief Lohi'au trained here.
Present-day hula halau (troupes) still leave lei and other offerings to Laka (goddess of hula) in crevices in the cliff face.
To find the remains of the heiau, take the path on the western side of the beach. Follow the stone wall as it curves uphill and you'll reach the heiau almost imm…
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Donkey Beach
An easy 10-minute walk down from the highway takes you to golden Donkey Beach, Kaua'i's best-known nudist beach. But nudity is illegal on Kaua'i and police occasionally bust those in the buff. No surprise, the site is also popular as a gay beach.
Summer swells are manageable here but from October to May dangerous rip currents and a powerful shorebreak take over. Blustery winds whip ironwood trees away from the shore, which are bent so low they resemble shrubs. Naupaka and 'ilima, native ground-creeping flowers, add dashes of color to the sand. Shade is minimal so bring sun protection.
To get to the beach, stop at the paved parking lot at the ocean side of Kuhio Hwy, about …
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Salt Pond Beach Park
Salt Pond Beach Park is one of Kaua'i's best family beaches - and even better because it remains untouristy. Beyond the long stretch of sand, the water in the cove reaches up to 10ft deep and works well for swimming laps (four times across equals 0.5 miles) and also for windsurfing. Both ends of the cove are shallow and good for kids. Along with a lifeguard, amenities include picnic tables, barbecue grills, showers and campsites.
The park is named for its famous salt ponds toward the east, where Hawaiians have traditionally made rock salt from seawater. Often, this alae salt is tinted red from adding a bit of Kaua'i's ubiquitous iron-rich earth.
To get here, turn left just…
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