Mountain sights in O'ahu
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Diamond Head State Monument
One of the best-known landmarks in the Pacific, Diamond Head is familiar to every visitor to O'ahu as the backdrop to Waikiki. The 228m (760ft) mountain is a tuff cone and crater formed by a violent steam explosion deep beneath the surface long after most of O'ahu's volcanic activity had stopped.
The crater is the site of Diamond Head State Monument, a visitor facility with picnic tables and a hiking trail up to the crater summit.
The trail to Diamond Head summit was built in 1910 to service the military observation stations located along the crater rim. Today it's a popular hike. Don't expect a walk in the park, as it's a fairly steep hike that takes about one hour retur…
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Nu'uanu Pali Lookout
Whatever you do, don't miss the ridge-top Nu'uanu Pali Lookout with its sweeping vista of windward O'ahu from a height of 1200ft (366m). From the lookout you can see Kane'ohe straight ahead, Kailua to the right, and Mokoli'i Island and the coastal fishpond at Kualoa Regional Park to the far left.
This is windward O'ahu - and the winds that funnel through the pali are so strong that you can sometimes lean against them.
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Crouching Lion
The legend goes like so: the rock is a demigod from Tahiti who was cemented to the mountain during a jealous struggle between the volcano goddess Pele and her sister Hiiaka. When he tried to free himself by crouching, he was turned to stone. To find him, stand at the restaurant sign just north of the 27-mile marker with your back to the ocean and look straight up to the left of the coconut tree and the cliff above.
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