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Oahu
(oh-ah-hoo)

Land of Contrasts

From ancient stone heiau (temples) to 21st-Century high-rises, O'ahu is an island of endless contrasts. Geographically only the third largest of the inhabited Hawaiian Islands, it is nonetheless home to nearly three-quarters of the state's 1.2 million residents ? 370,000 of whom are concentrated in urban Honolulu, the ultra-modern, south-coast cityscape kama'aina (residents) refer to simply as "Town."

But take a 45-minute drive to "Country" ? the famed surfing Mecca on the island's north shore ? and you'll find sleepy Hale'iwa town (pop. 2,225) existing much as it has since it was established by missionaries in 1832.

Points of Interest

KAENA POINT
Kaena Point (Leeward Oahu)

Leaping Place of Souls
Desolate Kaena Point was known as a place from which souls departed from the earth. Here, the souls of the dead, or near dead, wandered. Here they leaped into the night. Good souls moved to the right when leaping; those who moved to the left fell into "the pit of endless night."

KUKANILOKO BIRTHSTONES
Wahiawa (Central Oahu)

Birthplace of Chiefs
The sacred birthing stone of Hawaiian royalty. A large, brown lava rock with a sculptured area that supported the mother in a semi-sitting position while she gave birth. Often women who come to this site experience birthing pains identifying with the mothers of the past.

MANOA CHINESE CEMETERY
Manoa Valley (Honolulu / Manoa Area)

Home of Fireballs and Spirits
The cemetery has a reputation of being haunted. Over many years, tales have spread about the glowing fires and swirling little balls of light that fly over the graves here. The Hawaiians refer to fireballs as akua lele, or Flying Gods. Some say that the appearance of such a ball of light is an omen of impending death.

ULUPO HEIAU
Kailua (Windward Oahu)

The Menehune Pathway
A heiau so ancient that it is believed the menehune (a legendary race of small people) built it. The menehune had a reputation for hard work, and they are believed to have hauled the rocks a long distance, passing them down a line hand-to-hand in a single night. A pathway of stones leading across the platform is known as the "menehune pathway".

KAAAWA VALLEY
Kaaawa (Windward Oahu)

Secret Burial Caves and Night Marchers
The remains of more than four hundred chiefs are said to be buried in the caves above Kualoa Ranch. Night marchers have been seen here, chiefs and warriors in huge ghostly processions, marching from their burial caves high in the mountains to the sea. Some of the many road accidents in the area have been attributed to these sightings.

What's More ...

- Oahu's size is said to be 607.7 square miles

- The island's highest point is the summit of Mt. Kaala in the Waianae Range (4,020 feet)

- Average temperatures on O'ahu range from 68 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit, year-round. Coastal rainfall averages 23 inches per year.

- O'ahu's official flower is the 'ilima

- The island's official color is yellow


Maui
(m-ow-ee)

Land of the Sun

The demi-god Maui is a household name from Tonga to the Society Islands, to the Marquesas to Hawai'i. Something of a trickster, Maui had a place in his heart for mortals and is celebrated throughout the Pacific for such feats as giving fire to humans (after stealing it from its supernatural guardians) and fishing the islands of the Pacific from out of their watery depths. So great is his renown, in fact, that Maui is the only deity in Polynesia to currently have a major island named after him. Is it said that the god Maui himself pulled this island out of the depths of the ocean.

Points of Interest

HALEAKALA VOLCANO
Haleakala National Park (Upcountry Maui)

The Strongest Natural Power Point in the U.S.
In the largest dormant volcano in the world, there is an energy configuration coming from the earth and a high focus of radiation coming from outside the atmosphere. Students of higher consciousness from around the world are attracted to the energy force here and believe it accelerates personal growth. This is a true place of power.

PIILANIHALE HEIAU
Hana (East Maui)

Largest Sacrificial Heiau in Hawaii
Attempting to cleanse the land of past evils, church members approached the heiau and saw a warrior standing on the wall confronting them. Suddenly, the warrior turned and fled, and chariots appeared in the sky. The property owners have been most reluctant to allow the public anywhere near the heiau, believing that "if you call them, they will eat you".

WAIANAPANAPA CAVE
Hana (East Maui)

Scene of Ancient Murder
Legend says that the beautiful Princess Popoalaea escaped from her cruel and jealous husband and hid in this cave. When the chief found her, she was savagely murdered. In the spring, when the tragedy took place, red shrimp give the cave a red hue. Is it a sign of forgiveness, or the casting out of an evil spirit?


What's More ...

- The second largest of the populated Hawaiian Islands, Maui also boasts the second-largest population in the state, behind O'ahu (120,785 in 199 cool .

- Haleakala, whose name translates as "house of the sun," is the largest dormant volcano in the world. Not yet extinct, it is expected to erupt sometime in the next 200 years (it last erupted in 1790).

- The underwater valleys that once connected Maui, Moloka'i Lana'i and Kaho'olawe are shallower than the surrounding ocean, providing shelter for an abundance of marine life ? including the humpback whales that migrate to Hawaiian waters during winter months to give birth to their calves.

- Temperatures on Maui range from 70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit year-round, although the slopes of Haleakala Crater often see lows of 40 degrees. The lowest recorded temperature on Haleakala was 14 degrees Fahrenheit.

- Maui's official flower is the loke lani (pink cottage rose)

- Maui's official color is pink


Big Island of Hawaii
(huh-why-ee)

Land of Open Spaces

Legend has it that two deities ? the volcano goddess Pele and the demi-god Kamapua'a (the latter of whom could control the weather) ? struck a deal to make the vast Big Island of Hawai'i's west side so dry, and its east side so wet. The story's short version is that, after a battle, the pair divided the island in two, with Pele taking the western half and Kamapua'a, the eastern.


Climate & Geography

Even so, the island's weather isn't so cut-and-dried. Twelve distinct climate zones exist here, ranging from East Hawai'i's tropical rain forests and Mauna Kea's frozen tundra to Ka'u's arid desert in the south.

Covering 4,028 square miles, the Big Island (or the "Orchid Isle" wink is the youngest and largest of the Hawaiian Islands ? twice the size of all the other major Islands combined. And with two of the five volcanoes that created the island still active, it continues to grow: Kilauea Caldera is the longest continuously erupting volcano in the world, its present eruptive phase dating back to 1983; Mauna Loa, meanwhile, last erupted in March of 1984, sending lava to within a few miles of East Hawai'i's Hilo town. Of the remaining three volcanoes on the island, Mauna Kea and Kohala are extinct, while Hualalai is considered to be dormant, having last erupted in 1801.

Points of Interest

PUUKOHOLA HEIAU NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE
(Kohala District)

War Temple to Ku
Consecrated to the War God, Ku, and site of many human sacrifices. Some people come here to pray, maybe to the old Hawaiian gods. It is said that blood still seeps from the rocks, and there is a shark heiau under the blue waters of this peaceful-looking bay.


KUEMANU HEIAU
Kahaluu Bay (Kona District)

Surfer's Temple
A chief who loved to surf saw a beautiful naked woman expertly riding the waves, her long hair flying in the wind. They married. Their children became the rulers of Maui and Hawaii. Today surfers still pray here for the perfect wave. Some surfers may find the presence of a sacrificial bone pit an ominous touch!


KALALEA HEIAU
South Point (Kau District)

A Doorway to the Other Side
Considered to be a power vortex, a rip in the fabric of time. There are many stories of UFO sightings here. A local resident covered a large area with macadamia nut shells to create a smooth landing strip. Build it, and they will come.


KILAUEA VOLCANO
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

A Home to the Goddess of Fire
The Goddess Pele the lady with the unpredictable, volcanic personality. She often appears either as an old woman or a young girl. There are many stories of sightings before volcanic eruptions. Island lore tells that the power of the goddess extends beyond the shores of Hawaii. The fire that resulted from the 1906 earthquake that destroyed much of San Francisco was said to have had the unmistakable brand of Pele. Pele is a goddess who is still actively worshipped today. Note the offerings on the rim of the crater when you visit Kilauea Volcano.


NAHA STONE
Hilo Town (Hilo District)

The Excalibur Story of Hawaii
Many years before the birth of Kamehameha the Great, a powerful kahuna (priest) prophesied that the man who moved the 7,000 pound Naha Stone would be the greatest king of Hawaii. Kamehameha, a boy of about fourteen years, moved this massive rock, then he lifted it and turned it over. As the prophet had foretold, Kamehameha I became Hawaii?s greatest king.

What's More ...

- Though the average temperature on the Big Island ranges from 71 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit in the coastal regions (with temperatures in the low 70s October through April), the summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa are often blanketed with snow.

- Average annual rainfall ranges from 10 inches at Kawaihae (near the west-facing Kohala Coast) to 128 inches at the Hilo Airport.

- Fifteen miles off the island's southeast coast yet another volcano, Lo'ihi, is erupting 3,000 feet below the surface of the ocean. While it will still be several thousand years before this volcano breaks the sea's surface, it has already risen more than 10,000 feet from the sea floor and has a crater that measures three miles across.

- Captain James Cook, who is widely considered to be the first European to set foot in the Hawaiian Islands, was killed at Kona's Kealakekua Bay in 1779.

- The Big Island's official flower is the lehua 'ohi'a

- The island's official color is red


Kauai
(kow-ah-ee)

Land of Beginnings

While Kaua'i's reputation as home to the wettest spot on Earth ? Mount Wai'ale'ale, averaging 485 inches of rain per year ? has lead to its popular designation as "The Garden Isle," the island has another, older name: "The Separate Kingdom."

History

In part this is because Kaua'i may have been the first of the Hawaiian Islands to be settled by Marquesan seafarers, somewhere around 750 A.D. Combined with its remoteness from the rest of the island chain, this may also have led to the belief that Kaua'i's royal bloodline was the purest in the Islands. Kaua'i was also the only island in the chain to withstand the army of Kamehameha the Great as he swept through the rest of the archipelago in the late 1700s, on his quest to unify Hawai'i under one king. (Kamehameha would eventually have his way, however, when Kaua'i's chief Kaumuali'i peacefully ceded authority over his island to the king in 1810.)

Kaua'i was the first Hawaiian Island English explorer Capt. James Cook stumbled upon in 1778, while sailing from Tahiti toward North America. While it has long been believed that Cook was the first European to set foot in the Islands ? he first did so at Waimea, on Kaua'i's southwest coast ? recent evidence has some historians claiming that Spanish sailors may have visited the Islands more than a century earlier.

Geography

The oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands, it is believed the volcano that created Kaua'i first began erupting some 10 million years ago. Once rising more than 10,000 feet above sea level, Olokele Volcano has since eroded down to two main peaks ? Wai'ale'ale (5,148 feet) and Kawaikini (5,243 feet) ? with the rest of the mountain sinking to form the crater that is home to Alaka'i Swamp. Alaka'i Swamp is the largest high-elevation swamp in the world and the starting point for Waimea River, the longest river in the Islands. The 3,000-foot-deep Waimea Canyon, dubbed "The Grand Canyon of the Pacific," is also the product of these erosive forces.

Kaua'i's age has also led to something of a geographic anomaly: Although it is one of the smallest of the main Hawaiian Islands, the forces of nature have had more time to break the island down and produce more sand beach around its 110-mile coastline than any other island in the chain. Meanwhile, it remains the least populated of Hawai'i.

Points of Interest

HOLOHOLO KU HEAIU
Wailua River State Park (East Side)

Feared Death, Favored Birth
A much-feared place of human sacrifice as well as the site of a birthing stone. A child born at the birthing stone gained incredible mana (divine power) and a chiefly status. The umbilical cords of the newborn were well hidden in the nearby stones. If rats ate the cord, the child would grow up to be a disgrace to his parents and a thief. "Pau Piko Ka Iole" (navel cord gone to the rats) was an insult no Hawaiian wished to hear.

WAILUA VALLEY
Wailua River State Park (East Side)

Sacred and Forbidden
Spirits of the dead chiefs are said to still gather on the upland plains and march as night marchers in ghostly processions with drums and flutes. Listen, then hide! People call the spirits by fasting for two days, lighting a kukui-nut lamp, drinking some kukui-nut oil to cleanse the body, drinking some awa, maybe smoking a little weed. Then you call them. They will come.

KE AHU A LAKA HALAU HULA
Kee Beach (North Shore)

The Temple of Hula
An ancient temple dedicated to Laka, Goddess of the Hula. The Halau Hula (House of Hula) was the training site. Dancers could not cut their hair or nails, certain foods were kapu (forbidden), and no sexual intercourse was allowed. The erotic dancing of the islands of Polynesia was intended to bring about fertility in nature. In hula lies the rich, dramatic history of Hawaii presented in sensual, visual, and audible forms.


What's More ...

- The average temperature at Lihu'e Airport ranges between 70 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit year-round.

- Wai'ale'ale is aptly named. The word translates as "rippling or overflowing water."

- Kaua'i's official flower is the mokihana (green berry)

- The island's official color is purple


Molokai
(mo-lo-kah-ee)

Land of Sanctuary

Once a pu'uhonua (place of refuge) for defeated warriors and those who had violated the strictures of the Hawaiian kapu system (that which is prohibited or sacred), Moloka'i has long been a land of special power. Like all such sanctuaries in Polynesia, Moloka'i was not protected by physical force, but by mana ? that is, spiritual power.

That power is still palpable on Moloka'i, which is often referred to as the "Most Hawaiian Island" because it has the largest percentage of native Hawaiian residents in the state (excluding, that is, the privately owned island of Ni'ihau).

Geography

A scant 264 square miles in total, Moloka'i can be driven tip to tip in a couple hours. Its main town, Kaunakakai, spans three blocks and offers no traffic lights or fast-food restaurants. Instead, you'll find unparalleled natural beauty and a much-storied past.

North Moloka'i's Kalaupapa peninsula ? hemmed in on one side by a 1,500-foot pali (cliff) and on the other side by the blue Pacific ? was established as a place of exile for people suffering from Hansen's Disease (then known as leprosy) in 1866.

East of Kalaupapa is Kahiwa Falls, at 1,750 feet the highest sea cliff in the world. Meanwhile, to the West, the goddess Laka is said to have given birth to the art of hula somewhere near Maunaloa. For this Moloka'i is often referred to as "Ka Hula Piko" ? literally, "the navel of hula" (or figuratively, "the center of the dance" wink .

Points of Interest

KAULEONANAHOA PHALLIC ROCK
Palaau State Park (Central Molokai)

There is Life in the Stone
A legendary fertility tool, a six-foot high natural stone standing erect in a dense grove of ironwood trees. Legend says that if a woman goes to Kauleonanahoa with offerings and spends the night there, she will return home pregnant.

KAWELA BATTLEFIELD
Kawela Area (Central Molokai)

Night Marchers? Right-Of-Way
Visitors from another dimension are commonplace in this area. A resident whose house is on the path of the Night Marchers (ghost warriors) simply leaves the front and back doors open on the nights they march. He says that saves him from being bothered by them as they walk through the house carrying their torches, laughing and making a noise, going to their canoes.

SACRED GROVE OF LANIKAULA
Puu O Hoku Ranch (East Molokai)

Bewitched Burial Site
The grave of a great and feared prophet lies hidden in a sacred grove of kukui trees. Although a practitioner of powerful sorcery, he was unable to prevent his rivals from praying him to death. In later years, when a farmer attempted to cut down part of the grove of kukui, he suffered a stroke and was paralyzed. No crops grew, and the farmer died in poverty. Don?t mess with a prophet?s grave!

HALAWA VALLEY
Halawa Valley (East Molokai)

Valley of Sorcerers
The island of Molokai was known for its powerful sorcery, and this beautiful, remote valley was once the site of a school for sorcerers.


Natural Attractions

Also on Moloka'i you'll find Hawai'i's longest white sand beach; the only barrier reef north of Australia; black sand beaches; lowland desert; rain forests; bogs; fern forests; grasslands; lowland forests and ancient heiau (temples, pre-Christian places of worship).

What's More ...

- Located nearly at the center of the chain of eight main Hawaiian Islands, Moloka'i is about two million years old.

- The average temperature on the island is 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

- Moloka'i's official flower is the white kukui tree blossom

- The island's official color is green


Lana'i
(la-nah-ee)

Land of Adventure

If you're looking for nightlife, Lana'i may not be your best choice. Alternately known as Hawai'i's "Most Secluded Island" and "The Pineapple Island" (it once hosted the world's largest pineapple plantation), Lana'i is home to a mere 5,000 residents ? the vast majority of whom live in the cool heights of Lana'i City overlooking the vast, red-dirt fields below.

Geography

What Lana'i lacks in discos it more than makes up for in outdoor adventure. Not far from Lana'i City you'll find the Munro Trail, which climbs from the city's 1,600-foot elevation through stands of Norfolk pines (planted in the early 1900s by New Zealand naturalist George Munro) and up to the highest point on the island, Lana'ihale ("house of Lana'i" wink . From this point at 3,370 feet five other islands are visible on a clear day, along with much of Lana'i ? including Maunalei Gulch, where the island's defenders were unable to stop the advance of Kamehameha I's warriors in his quest to unite the Hawaiian Islands in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Points of Interest

SHIPWRECK BEACH PETROGLYPHS
Shipwreck Bay (East Lanai)

The Birdmen and Night Marchers of Lanai
Little stick figures about 12 inches tall, with strange, birdlike heads, decorate the rocks on the lonely and windswept shores of Shipwreck Beach graveyard for many vessels. Their meaning is a mystery lost in time. On the dark nights of the moon, ghosts of ancient warriors have been seen and heard along the shoreline road, and sounds of wailing and babies crying haunt many areas of the coast.

PUU PEHE
Manele Bay (South Lanai)

A Rock for Sweethearts
A legend says that Puu Pehe, a young girl from Maui, was captured by a young warrior from Lanai. Her beauty stunned him, and his fear of losing her led him to keep her in lonely places. One day, leaving her to prepare food, he returned to find her drowned. In grief, the young warrior retrieved her body and buried it on the 80-foot high rock island. He then leapt into the sea below, taking his own life.

KAUNOLU ARCHAELOGICAL INTERPRETIVE PARK
Kaunolu (South Lanai)

An Ancient Village
Lanai was once known as the "Island of Ghosts." Its earliest inhabitants were said to be man-eating spirits and fiendish, blood-curdling ghouls controlled by a sorceress, Pahulu. Hawaiians avoided Lanai until the fifteenth century, when the ghosts were tricked and banished by Kaululaau, a prince from Maui.

What's More ...

- Lana'i was formed about 1.5 million years ago by the volcano Palawai. The island is currently 140 square miles in size.

- Lana'i's official flower is the kaunaoa (yellow and orange air plant)

- The island's official color is orange

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