OVERVIEW
Settle in for a spectacularly scenic drive deep into the Waipi’o Valley, the childhood home of King Kamehameha I, who unified the Hawaiian Islands into a single kingdom in 1810. Even the roads leading to the sacred valley are stunningly beautiful, beginning with the Old Mamalahoa Highway, a circuitous coastal route that leads to Onomea Gardens. Photo stops will be made along the way at particularly scenic spots, which are just about everywhere. The landscape will look entirely different once you reach the fertile Waipi’o Valley as 2,000-foot-high cliffs surround it. It is nicknamed the Valley of the Kings because Kamehameha and many other Hawaiian chieftains were raised there. Natural beauty also abounds at KoleKole Beach Park, where you will enjoy a boxed lunch while gazing out over the sea. The sight of Akaka Falls will be even more dramatic as this free-falling 442-foot cascade spills into a heavily vegetated gorge.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Drive through sacred Waipi’o Valley, where many Hawaiian kings and chieftains lived.
• Be awed by the natural beauty in the valley and along the roads leading to it.
• Pause for photos at thundering Akaka Falls and along the Old Mamalahoa Highway.
• Enjoy a boxed lunch at the park where the Kokekoke stream meets the Pacific Ocean.
HELPFUL HINTS
• Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.
• Wear flat comfortable walking shoes.
