Vacation Rental in Princeville Kauai

and Kauai Travel Guide

©B.Pruitt 2009-2012

Na Pali Kauai Sights

In Hawaiian, Na Pali means simply "the cliffs."  The Na Pali Coast is a rugged 15-mile stretch of cliffs, valleys and beaches between the end of the road at Ke‘e Beach at the northeast and the opposite end of the road at Polihale State Park in the southwest.  Remote and nearly inaccessible, Na Pali showcases nature in its rawest and most beautiful extremes.  It is one of the most dramatic engagements of land and water anywhere.  Emerald vegetation blankets seven major valleys; each barricaded from the other by sheer cliffs.  Razor-sharp ridges top cliffs rising 4,000 feet to the clouds.  Some valleys overhang the sea, their streams cascading from low cliffs.  Beaches front four valleys.  One beach has a fronting reef and another beach is swept away by winter surf, only to return each summer.  The high cliffs of the northern section of Na Pali wring much of the moisture out of the Trade Winds leaving arid conditions on the southern coast.  Miloli‘i Valley receives only half as much rainfall as the lush Hanakapi‘ai Valley.

Geologists believe that a large block of the original north side of Kauai broke off and slid into the ocean millions of years ago.  Left behind at the headwall of the slide was a sheer cliff thousands of feet high.  The unstoppable force of erosion began to cut deep valleys and canyons into the sea cliff.  Only three miles inland from the cliff thick layers of lava had formed the Olokele Plateau.  The composition of the plateau is a harder basalt that resists erosion better than the surrounding Na Pali flows.  This enabled the top of the plateau to stand high while running water cut steep slopes to the sea.  Extending from the plateau are tendrils of vertical dikes where the erosion-resistant lava flowed.  Like the plateau, these dikes persisted to form the high ridges running from the island's interior to the sea.

The rugged and isolated Na Pali Coast once hosted a sizeable Hawaiian population.  Each valley had a system of irrigated taro fields.  Nu‘alolo ‘Aina Valley taro growers terraced their land completely—down to the ocean end of its hanging valley.  Houses were built on stone platforms, utilizing land that was useless for agriculture.  Stories abound of the missing people who lived in the "Valley of the Lost Tribe."  Although considered fact by some accounts, the tale was concocted by Oahu school students who explored the valleys of Nu‘alolo and Honopu during a summertime excursion in the 1920s.  Their account was lent credence when it was published in a Honolulu newspaper.  The largest population of Na Pali was in the Kalalau Valley, but by 1920 the last residents had moved to Ha‘ena and Hanalei.

The Kalalau Trail connects the North Shore with the Hanakapi‘ai, Hanakoa and Kalalau Valleys.  In more ancient times trails crisscrossed the upland regions.  Hawaiians could cross the back of the valleys to travel to Ha‘ena as well take the oceanfront route of the Kalalau Trail.  Parts of the Kalalau Trail were widened with dynamite blasts in 1860.  Controller of Roads, Gottfried Wundenberg, supervised more than 400 blasts along the coast so that coffee and oranges grown commercially in the three valleys could be hauled out by heavily-laden donkeys.

Experiencing the sights of Na Pali takes more effort than on other parts of Kauai.  A road will never transit its wilderness.  By driving to the last lookout at the top of Koke‘e Road, motorists have a spectacular view down into the Kalalau Valley.  The modes of transportation that take you to Na Pali are hiking, boat tours or helicopter tours.  Hiking the 11-mile long Kalalau Trail takes adventurers into the first three valleys of Na Pali, ending at a campground next to Kalalau Beach.  The trail is very strenuous, somewhat hazardous and requires two days to hike in each direction.  State permits are required for the hike and to camp at Kalalau (See Hiking chapter).  The first two miles of Kalalau Trail lead to Hanakapi‘ai Beach from the trailhead at Ke‘e Beach and can be hiked without obtaining permits.  The Na Pali coastline is the premier attraction on helicopter tours.  Pilots take their aircraft into the valleys, treating passengers to heavenly views.  Powerboat tours leaving from the south coast ply the coastline with some offering landings at Nu‘alolo Kai Beach.  In the summer, guided kayak trips leave from the north shore.  Aided by a tail wind and a favoring current, the trip ends later the same day at Polihale Beach.